Star Wars: Vivum Galaxy: The Trials of Mand'alor
by XerxesFett
Summary: AU Normally Mandalorians aren't Force sensitive, but what if they were? Would The Jedi train them or see them as an abomination? Would other Mandalorians accept them or see them as weak pacifist Jedi? And what would happen if the opposing sides began to butt heads? For Xerxes Fett these are the questions that plague him as he discovers his Jedi potential. Which side will he choose?
1. Sith Elite I: interlude

Author's Note: None of the characters in this story are related to any of the characters from the movies, novels, comics or video games. Last names have been recycled for the sake of names. They are all original characters.

In this Star Wars AU, known as the Vivum Galaxy, all of the planets and races are the same. The Force is much stronger and has been studied more in-depth. The main difference is that Mandalorians have begun to show an aptitude for Force sensitivity. This story focuses on that and how it affects the galaxy. Do the Jedi accept them or do they consider those special Mandalorians an abomination to the Force? Would the other Mandalorians accept them as they are trained by the Jedi or see them as weak pacifist who aren't true Mando'ade? And what would happen if the two sides began to become aggressively hostile towards one another?  
I do not own Star Wars. I own only the characters in this story.

Second Author's Note: I had previously made this as a two part chapter split in two, but upon further thought and speculation realized that that didn't make sense so I combined the previous two chapters into one. Hopefully this will make the story flow better. Enjoy and may the Force be with you.

 **The Trials of Mandalore**

 **The Sith Elite**

Thunder. That was the best way to describe the planet of Dromund Kaas. When it wasn't raining, thunder and lightning storms constantly plagued the planet. A fitting image for the heart of the Sith Empire. For the hooded figure in the black cloak, it was a good way to cover the sounds of his footsteps.

The man, well into his prime and considered to be incredibly powerful for a Sith, lacked a lightsaber, which had always been a hindrance. Or so his rivals thought. His knowledge of the dark side and ancient Sith alchemy easily matched their brute strength, but that was no reason to needlessly put himself in harm's way and the longer he could keep his latest project a secret the better. As he traversed the forests on the outskirts of the City of Dromund Kass he could feel all the hostile predators around him, although none dared to follow or attack him. His powerful dark side aura filled those around him with a sense of dread. Yet another sign of his hidden power.

He eventually reached a cave entrance that was covered by the forest's foliage. Just the one he had been seeking. The descent into the bowels of the cave was an arduous journey even for someone as young as him. If this project took longer than he had predicted, he would have to do something about making the trip easier for when he began to age. After what felt like ages and several future aches in his back, he reached the chamber of his secret project.

As he entered, he surveyed his surroundings to be certain his workspace had remained secret. No triggered traps or dead bodies lying about. No one had been here. The high vaulted ceilings ascended into the darkness which lay beneath the ancient dark temple. A perfect conduit for the dark side to flow downward toward the seed he had planted. Though to call it a seed may not have been the correct term. The object in the middle of the room was a large crimson-red crystal that had made its way towards the ceiling sitting atop a raised pedestal. It had easily grown more than eight feet tall since the last time he had seen it and its hue had darkened. Perhaps it was ready now.

As he ran his hand across the surface of the crystal his face took on an unsatisfied scowl. He could feel all the imperfections in the precious stone and he knew that while it was more than fit to become a lightsaber crystal, he felt that it was not ready to become a part of his lightsaber. He had waited much longer than almost all other Sith had when forging their lightsaber crystals. Unlike the Jedi who believed in searching for a naturally grown crystal that was already attuned to them, the Sith believed in forging their crystals through the dark side and forcing them to grow at what would be considered unnatural rates of growth. This was what made their crystals imperfect and sometimes caused catastrophic malfunctions in their lightsabers. He, however, would not make the same blunders as his predecessors.

The cloaked figure raised his hands towards the crimson crystal and focused the Force on its form. He felt the ground shake as he lifted the crystal into the air just high enough to no longer be in contact with anything around it. He called upon his knowledge of ancient Sith alchemy as he envisioned in his mind's eye a smaller, to scale version of the crystal between his hands. He moved his hands around the small vision before him, using the Force to cut away at the imperfections in the crystal. At the same time, he used the Force to crush the crystal by creating an artificial gravity well at its center. By bringing his hands closer together, the crystal to compact and became a smaller condensed version of its original form. The strain was beginning to become too much for him. In a way, he felt that he too was being cleansed of his imperfections, just as the crystal he was creating was becoming more perfect. When he felt he could compress it no longer he released the crystal and returned it to its resting place atop the pedestal. He paused to catch his breath as he felt the power of the dark side slowly drain into him from his crystal. He approached the crystal and observed the changes he caused in it. It was now no taller than three inches and could fit into the palm of his hand. He noted that not only had the imperfections that he had felt before become significantly less in number but that the hue of the crystal had darkened again, to blood red.

At this rate, his lightsaber crystal wouldn't be ready for the better part of another century. But he could wait. Unlike other Sith, he was more than patient enough to wait on the perfect Sith crystal. After all, he hadn't used Sith alchemy to extend his life for the past fifty years to take the easy way to victory and as long as he fed his dark emotions into the crystal before him, it would, in turn, grant him the strength of the dark side that it absorbed from the temple above. The cloaked figure turned on his heel and began the climb out of the chamber. His lightsaber would be the most powerful. It would reflect him perfectly. It would absorb the light of any Jedi lightsaber. It would be the weapon he would use to engulf the galaxy in darkness. Of that, he was more than certain. The mere thought of it caused a wicked smile to spread across his face as he took one more look at the crystal that was his destiny.

 **Seventy Years Later…**

As he cut away the last imperfections in his crystal using the Force, he felt the unmistakable connection he had to it. The time was now. His lightsaber crystal was finally ready. As the cloaked figure opened his eyes, he observed the new color of his crystal. Pitch black, the light didn't even reflect off of its surface. It was perfect.

It was finally time for him to build his lightsaber. He pulled the lightsaber parts that he had been holding onto for so long out of the pockets of his robe. He had become so familiar with them. Dreaming of the day when they would finally come together to form his weapon. Now that the day was finally here, he could hardly contain himself. He allowed his emotions to overflow into the Force as he took a cross-legged, seated position and began to meditate. Using the Force, he lifted the lightsaber parts into the air around the black crystal and slowly began to build his lightsaber. He closed his eyes and let the dark side of the Force flow through him as he fused the parts together on a molecular level, each piece fitting together perfectly. He opened his eyes, looked up and beheld his lightsaber. Seventy-five years of crystal forging and now he had the most powerful lightsaber ever created.

The timing could not have been more perfect. For the current Emperor, the fourth during his lifetime had just negotiated a peace treaty with the Republic. Peace is a lie! The first and most important precept of the Sith teachings. To casually disregard it should have been considered heresy for any Sith, not just the Emperor. They were becoming soft, weak and worst of all, complacent. He stood up and grabbed his lightsaber from where it had been floating. The time had come not only for him and his crystal to become perfect, but it had also come for the Empire. It was time for a new Emperor.

….

The bodies of the Emperor's guard laid on the floor behind him. They had not been strong enough to stop his approach to the Citadel. Pathetic. He hadn't even drawn his lightsaber. Although he didn't need to. Not for such weak-willed soldiers. No, he would save igniting his blade for the first time for the Emperor. Any guard that approached him was simply torn aside or blasted with Force lightning from his fingertips. Not once slowing his walking gait. Those guards smart enough to realize what was about to happen bent their knee and kowtowed to the man who planned to usurp power over them. In no time at all he had reached the doors to the Emperor's throne room.

He looked up and beheld the large imposing doors before him. Surely the security mechanisms would have engaged by now. For a normal intruder, this would have been the obstacle that would bar their way and end their journey. But then again, he was no normal intruder. He clipped his new lightsaber to his belt and placed the palms of his hands on the doors. Using the Force, he began to vibrate the doors with his hands. He closed his eyes and concentrated on finding the right vibrational pattern. He knew if he could match it to the doors just right, the locking mechanisms inside would fall apart and the doors would fall in. As the doors shook violently from the vibrating, several loud thuds could be heard from within them. It had worked.

He quickly took a step back as the doors fell into the Emperor's throne room with a crash. The throne room was quiet as there was no one inside. He walked on the doors and approached the Emperor's throne. It sat atop a tall set of stairs at the end of the room. The throne was a large, high backed seat and behind it was a massive window overlooking Kass City. It had started raining. How poetic, he thought. On the throne sat the Emperor himself. Darth Pondus. The fat, middle-aged man sat on his throne and looked down at him as if he were an unsightly bug. Darth Pondus spoke loudly as he approached. "So, you've finally come have you?"

The Emperor splayed his arms wide as if there were a large audience before him. "The famous Lightsaber-less Sith has come to make his grievances known." He drawled sarcastically. The Emperor laughed and his fat jowls jiggled in rhythm. "How dare you, Lord Vis! How dare you come in here not only unannounced but knowing full well that we are not equipped to deal with the Republic." Lord Vis continued to walk up the stairs, never once breaking eye contact with the Emperor.

Darth Pondus continued, "I appreciate your insight into the fact that peace will make us appear weak, but our survival is more important than your ancient ideology." The Emperor suddenly flew from his throne, grasped around the neck by an unseen Force. Lord Vis held his fist up and used the Force to make the Emperor look into his eyes. If he could see his own eyes, Lord Vis would have known that his eyes had become pure black. This caused the Emperor to gasp. Lord Vis spoke quietly as he held the Emperor dangling in the air with the Force, "This ancient ideology is what founded the Sith." He threw Darth Pondus behind him down the stairs. "It is what separates us from the Jedi!" He began walking down the stairs as Pondus quickly attempted to recover. "It is what has granted us power for millennia and you, you seek to make us powerless and enslave us to Republic. All because you are too weak-willed to do what must be done."

By now Pondus had pulled out his lightsaber and ignited the crimson blade. He stood defiant to Lord Vis, but he had not been expecting such power and ferocity. Lord Vis could see the fear creeping into Pondus' face. Lord Vis reached for his lightsaber and held the hilt in front of him for Pondus to see. "So," Pondus said, a slight smile of worry etching his face. "You've finally given in and made a lightsaber, eh? Good. I'd hate to have to cut you down without even a fight." Darth Pondus swung his blade over his head and brought it down in a vertical hacking motion. Believing himself the faster, Pondus felt he could cut Lord Vis down swiftly before the latter could retaliate. He was wrong.

Lord Vis ignited his lightsaber and easily blocked the Emperor's attack. Neither of them, however, had expected what happened next. Pondus' blade had folded in on itself when it made contact with Vis' and was being sucked into the other. Pondus quickly pulled the blade back and took a long, wide-eyed look at Lord Vis' lightsaber. It was pitch black. There was no glow to the blade, almost no form. The strange thing that he couldn't understand was the way light and space seemed to bend around the black blade. Almost as if there were simply a hole in space. "Interesting." murmured Lord Vis.

Pondus looked up at Lord Vis who was now admiring the blade of his lightsaber with a newfound curiosity. "What is this?" Pondus asked, confusion and fear gripping his heart. Lord Vis continued to eye his weapon as he spoke, "This is the ultimate Sith lightsaber. I have spent the last seventy-five years forging its crystal underneath the caves of the ancient Dark Temple. Feeding it the energy of the dark side from the temple itself." Still confused, Pondus cried out, "But what is it?!" Lord Vis regarded Pondus, the fat man's finite mind too small to comprehend what was before him. "This is a true Black-Lightsaber. Not like those cheap knockoff dark sabers the ancient Mandalorians had. No, this is, well, how to put this? This is a black hole given blade form. A perfectly equal and exact opposite to the light of the Jedi's weapons." The Emperor began to tremble. His mind becoming too overwhelmed, he threw a handful of Force lightning at Lord Vis and fled towards the opening of his Throne room. Before he could reach it though, a sudden fog of darkness enshrouded Pondus, blocking his sight. From all around him, he could hear the voice of Lord Vis. "Not only that but in forging my blade for so long, it has, in turn, granted me the ability to become the shadows you now see before you." Lord Vis was the dark fog itself?! Pondus began to blubber in fear. Knowing he was powerless to stop Lord Vis, he cried out, "WHAT ARE YOU?!"

All was quiet for a moment. Then the voice in the shadows said, "I am Power. I am Darkness." Pondus turned around as the blade of the Black Lightsaber punctured through his chest. Unlike normal lightsabers, he was neither cut nor burned. Instead, the blade absorbed the flesh and bone around it, the way a black hole would. As Pondus fell to the floor, the blade continued to eat whatever touched it before he hit the floor. The fog dissipated and reformed into the body of the dark cloaked Lord Vis. He stood over the remains of Pondus' body, satisfied with his new-found power. He held the Black Lightsaber over his head and declared in a loud voice, "I am Darth Omega, the new Emperor!" Darth Omega held his blade before his face before quietly promising, "And I, will be the End of this galaxy."


	2. Ch1 Brothers In Arms

**The Trials of Mand'alor**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Brothers in Arms**

War. An inevitable part of any society's history, a part that shapes the lives of thousands of millions for ages. For the planet of Mandalore it was life. The Mandalorians had always been a nomadic race and their primary sources of income were farming and engineering. Of course when one lived on a hostile and savage world such as Mandalore, it was necessary for them to become a warrior-focused culture in order to protect themselves. Concepts like duty, honor and hero didn't have words in their native tongue. That was just how you were supposed to live in the first place, but the idea of family did and other than war, family was the most important thing there was.

As a child Xerxes Fett had been taught these things by his adopted parents and he understood them. Mandalorians adopted war orphans quite frequently in times of war. It gave their race a wide variety of strengths and skills that enhanced the race's survival. Xerxes was born human along with his half brother Galbon. Their father had been Mand'alor the Father. He had gained his title by adopting many children. He was also the most recent and late leader of the planet, but he had raised his children to be good Mandalorian men and women.

Now at the ripe age of sixteen Xerxes took some time to lounge in his favorite tree and ponder his future. The wind gently swept at his thick auburn hair. With his eyes closed and his hands behind his head, Xerxes thought about the different things he could do with his life now that he was considered a man.

"THINK FAST!" Without even opening his eyes, Xerxes' reflexes kicked in. Moving his right hand from behind his head, Xerxes moved his hand in front of his face and outstretched his fingers, catching the piece of fruit that had been thrown directly at his face in the palm of his hand. Opening one eye, Xerxes inspected the piece of fruit. It was his favorite kind, a Varos, with a thin skin and a crunchy, yet juicy interior. Opening both his eyes, Xerxes looked down at another young man with shoulder length blonde hair and a broad shouldered frame.

"You're getting better, Xerxes!", the young man said with his hands on his hips.

Xerxes casually eyed the fruit again. "More like you're becoming predictable, Galbon."

"What?!" Galbon scoffed. "I nearly had you."

Taking a bite out of the fruit, Xerxes replied, "Nope. I knew that you were nearby for at least the past five minutes. You're getting sloppy." Tossing the remainder of the fruit to his brother, Xerxes slid off the tree branch and landed on his feet at the bottom. "It's like I could see you before you were even there." The two boys had always had their friendly rivalries. It was how they kept each other sharp. Their father had taught them that when you're the child of Mand'alor you have to keep up your image. While both Xerxes and Galbon were striking in addition to being strong, Galbon was considered the stronger of the two with his wide frame and confident attitude. Xerxes, on the other hand was a lean figure with green eyes with a ring of brown in the center and an intelligent glimmer. He had proved himself to be a natural leader and capable strategist among their friends. Together, the two brothers felt unstoppable.

"Yeah, well, that's not why I came here in the first place.", Galbon said eating the rest of the fruit. "The clan leader says he has a couple of jobs for us. Said it was important to get them done before we celebrate Vlad's _verd'goten_ 1 and the Mand'alor Competition." The two boys began to walk back towards their village.

"Did he say exactly what it was he wanted us to do?" Xerxes inquired.

"Nah, he didn't say." Galbon replied tossing away the fruit core. "I'm just glad to be doing something. I'm just so ready to get all the coming of age stuff over and done with and start on my future."

"Me too. I've been giving some thought into that mechanic business you've been talking about."

"Are you going to do it?"

"Yeah, I think it'd be a good business venture for us."

"Aw nice." Galbon smiled as he placed his hands behind his head. "You given any thought to that, uh, other thing?", Galbon teased with a mischievous look in his steel blue eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Xerxes said looking away into the distance, indicating he clearly knew what Galbon was hinting at.

"Psh, don't give me that. You know full well that I mean you and Akiza."

With a smirk on his face, Xerxes pushed against Galbon's shoulder. "Shut up." Galbon didn't move very far. The two brothers chuckled.

"Are you gonna ask her to marry you or what?"

Xerxes sighed, but smiled. "Yeah, I think I will."

"Oh ho ho ho."

"But you can't say anything to her!" Xerxes said pointing to his brother. "I feel like it's the kind of thing better left to discuss with her after the new Mand'alor is decided."

"Alright, alright I hear you."

Xerxes decided to ask his brother something that he'd been worried about. "What do you think the new Mand'alor might be like?"

Galbon looked down slightly as they walked. "I don't know." He said. "I'm kinda hoping he makes an alliance with the Empire."

Xerxes nearly stopped in his tracks and looked at his brother in surprise. "What? Are you serious? The Empire is only interested in our Beskar metal. They'd strip mine the planet if they could."

Galbon looked back at Xerxes as they continued walking. "Oh, and I suppose the Republic wouldn't?"

"That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying we should worry about ourselves for now and take care of our own people."

"I agree and the quickest way to do that is by joining the Empire."

"Galbon, their political debates are not our problem."

"But they will be once they start looking for allies. At least the Empire is honest about what they want."

"The Empire has no sense of honor or justice!"

"The Republic is sneaky and manipulative, don't try to deny it!"

"Wait!", Xerxes stopped walking and held out his hands. Sighing, he continued to talk. "Just wait." Galbon stopped and looked expectantly at Xerxes. "Look, Galbon. I'm all for getting outside help, but we've been betrayed in the past by our allies on so many occasions that it's almost comical." Xerxes rubbed his hand against his cheek. "I think the best thing for Mandalore is to just stick to Mandalore and take care of itself. You know?"

"Yeah, I guess." Galbon still looked reluctant. "But if it were me, I'd expand our territory while we have the chance. Maybe take it from both the Republic and Empire."

Xerxes smirked again, "What, and start a war with both of them?"

Galbon placed an arm around Xerxes shoulders and confidently smiled, "Hey. As long as it was you and me, we could take on anyone."

Xerxes smiled, "Yeah, yeah we could." Picking up his pace Xerxes turned around and said, "Hey. Race you the rest of the way there." Then Xerxes ran towards Clan Beskad's village as fast as he could.

Galbon chased after him, "Hey, no fair!"

1)Verd'goten- Mandalorian coming of age, also knowna s the Warrior Trials


	3. Ch2 Clan Beskad

**The Trials of Mand'alor**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Clan Beskad**

Xerxes and Galbon ran to the small village where Clan Beskad lived. It was a few miles to the north west, outside of the planet's capital. The City of Keldabe, the largest city on the planet, located just 45 degrees north of the equator on a granite hill. The forests to the north of the city were always full of vicious wildlife perfect for hunting practice where young mandalorians could test their skills. As Xerxes ran into the village of only a handful of buildings, he took note of two of his friends whom he had not seen in a month, patiently waiting for him. The young man with dark hair noticed Xerxes and started sprinting towards him, calling out his name.

"It's good to see you too, Vlad!" Xerxes replied as they greeted each other. "So how was the hunt on Tatooine? Bring back any souvenirs?"

Vladimir, who had just recently become a teenager, could barely contain himself. The excitement of a successful hunt was bursting from his young face. "Yeah!" Vlad exclaimed. "I brought back some gaffi sticks from the Tusken raiders we were paid to hunt down! I don't mean to brag, but I was able snipe about five Tuskens before they even knew what was going on. Oh! You should see what Akiza brought back though."

Just then Galbon walked up to the two boys, attempting to catch his breath. "What- what could she have gotten- that's better than gaffi sticks?" Galbon asked.

Placing his hands on his hips and with pride for his older sister in his voice, Vlad stated, "She managed to kill a Krayt dragon all on her own."

"What?!" Xerxes and Galbon both cried out.

"Well, it was an adolescent Krayt dragon so it wasn't that big, but still."

Xerxes looked over to his best friend, Akiza, in disbelief. She however smiled, indicating that what Vlad said was true.

Xerxes couldn't help but let his eyes linger on the girl he had come to have a great affection for. He noted again the way Akiza's amber eyes glowed with confidence and warmth. How her red hair cascaded over her shoulders. How her beautiful smile always disarmed him. But most of all, how strong she was and resolute about being the best warrior she could be while still being kind to others. Galbon noticed Xerxes staring and took advantage of his brother's distraction. "A Krayt dragon you say?" Galbon said stroking his chin in mock contemplation. "That's quite the catch, wouldn't you agree, Xerxes?"

"Yeah.", Xerxes answered registering only half of what Galbon was said. "She certainly is."

Galbon and Vlad chortled at Xerxes absentminded response. Vlad spoke up to get Xerxes attention, "I never said the Krayt dragon was a she." Xerxes finally snapped out of his stupor and looked at Vlad. Glancing between the smirks on Vlad and Galbon's faces it only took a second for Xerxes to realize that they had once again gotten him to say something potentially embarrassing. "Oh, ha ha, guys. Real funny." Xerxes continued as his friends chuckled at his expense. "Well, aren't you proud of yourselves?" Rolling his eyes, Xerxes turned his attention to Akiza. "So, if you've managed to kill a Krayt dragon, where's your trophy proving your kill?"

Akiza walked up to the group with her hands behind her back. "Well" she began, "It was a choice between its teeth, claws or skin. So, I chose its skin."

"…And, where is it?" Xerxes asked.

"I'm wearing it." Confused, Xerxes quickly looked over her armor, but could find no indication of any krayt dragon scales. He raised his eyebrow at her in confusion.

Vlad answered Xerxes' unspoken question. "What she means is, she made some of the skin into a wearable under armor."

"Seriously?" Xerxes asked in amazement. "I didn't think such a thing was possible."

Akiza just shrugged her shoulders non-chalantly. "Neither did I, but I tried it and it worked out. The scales actually move quite freely with my body considering how strong and rigid they are." Xerxes had always been interested in inventing and building things with his hands so for her to let him know such details was no surprise.

"Interesting." Xerxes pondered. "You'll have to let me see it sometime and show me how you were able to make it."

Akiza put her hands on her hips and looked slightly put off. "Xerxes Fett," she exclaimed in a voice of mock shock, unable to hide the smirk slowly creeping onto her face. "You know better than to ask a girl for a peek like that." Vlad and Galbon suddenly burst into laughter. Xerxes felt a slight heat rising into his cheeks as he realized the joke she was having at his expense. For her though, he didn't mind too much.

Allowing a smile to grace his face Xerxes pointed a finger to defend himself. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"I know." Akiza giggled to herself. "I just like to mess with you a bit. Now let's go. Dad has some important news for you two."

With her hands behind her back, she turned around and led the young men towards the only stone dwelling in the village. The home of L'gann Orren, the leader of Clan Beskad. As they stepped into the home, Xerxes could see a man in his late thirties conversing with someone on the holo-screen. He was throwing his arms around in wild gestures as he told incredible stories. The man in question was L'gann and even in doors he was still wearing his silver sunglasses. Xerxes had always found it weird that L'gann wore them almost all the time. Looking at the man's muscular arms covered in swirling blue tribal tattoos along with his blue hair, one would never have guessed that this eccentric person could ever be a responsible leader. Yet L'gann was probably the most reliable person Xerxes had ever met. After Xerxes' father had died when he was eight, L'gann had been the one to take him and his brother in and raise them up and train them. As the small group of teens entered the room L'gann looked over his shoulder, turned back to the screen and said, "Well, we can finish talking about that later. I gotta go. I'll see you soon pal." L'gann turned off the screen, spun around in his chair and putting his hands on his knees, gave his full attention to his guests. "Well, it's about time you guys showed up." L'gann said with all the enthusiasm of a young man. "Come on. Take a seat and we can get started." Everyone took a seat around the stone table centered in the middle of the dwelling. L'gann took a moment to compose himself before speaking. As he scanned the teenagers he had helped to raise, a wide grin broke open on his face. "Man. I'm gone only one month and look at how much you've grown. Speaking of that month, I gotta tell you all about the hunt on Tatooine. So, there we were in the canyons with a sandstorm threatening to come in while trying to hunt down some Tusken Raiders, when suddenly…"

"Um… Dad?" Akiza interrupted. "Don't you think you should tell them about the other important thing first?"

L'gann paused and looked over to his daughter in confusion with his arms above his head before realization dawned on him. "Huh? Oh yeah. The big news!" L'gann cleared his throat and continued, "So, as you all know, all the clan leaders and I have been getting the Mand'alor Competition set up in order to select our new leader. So far, we've kept everyone in the dark about who will be participating in this. Well, first I need to tell you this wasn't our idea. This was all Abram's idea."

Galbon and Xerxes stared at L'gann in surprise. "You mean our dad came up with this plan?"

"That's right. He left very specific instructions that if a new Mand'alor hadn't been selected in the allotted time that we should have this competition. I'm glad it turned out like this. Because the people he wanted to have compete for his title are going to be all of the people he ever adopted." L'gann ended his big reveal with his signature grin and folding his arms.

Vlad looked confused by the news. "So, what you're saying is that over a hundred people are going to be competing to become Mand'alor?" He asked.

L'gann just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose under his sunglasses. "I've been waiting eight years to say this and you guys still don't get it. No, the reason this is big news for Clan Beskad is because", L'gann beat the palms of his hands on the table in a drum roll, "our very own Fett brothers here, have got a shot at becoming the new Mand'alor!" He ended by pointing at the now stunned Xerxes and Galbon.

Galbon reacted first as he shook his brother's shoulders in excitement. "Do you know what this means, bro? We could actually make things be the way we want!"

Xerxes was still reeling from the daunting task that had been placed on him, so excitement came much slower for him. "Yeah, but that means we have to go through all of our adopted siblings whom we've never met, Galbon."

As the difficulty of their task set in Galbon's mind as he sat back down and turned to L'gann. "That's right." He said somberly. "Like Vlad said, that's a lot of people."

"WHAT?!" L'gann cried out. "Doubting yourselves already?" L'gann stood up and placed one foot on the table. With one hand on his hip and the other pointing towards the sky, he hollered, "If there's one thing I've ever taught you guys about believing in yourselves it's to 'Believe in the me…"

Everyone stood up and pointed to the sky as well and exclaimed in one voice, "Who believes in you!"

"That's right!" L'gann said pushing up his sunglasses with his thumb. "At least until you can believe in yourselves. So, get excited! This is your chance to carry on your father's legacy."

While his friends cheered and allowed the moment to sweep them away, Xerxes sat in thought, stroking his chin. He wondered to himself if this was what destiny had in store for him. Was he meant to lead his entire race, his entire planet? Being in that position of power would certainly make it easier to get things done that he felt would be in Mandalore's best interest or perhaps his own. But what if it was Galbon that fate favored? Would Galbon make choices that benefited everyone and not just his own ideals? Could Xerxes for that matter? The gravity of such power slowly crept in and settled like a heavy stone in Xerxes' chest. The more he thought about it, the harder it became to breath. He shook his head and drove those thoughts of doubt out. He hadn't become Mand'alor yet, no one had. It was a one in an almost hundred chances anyway. He just had to do his best no matter what. That's what his father would've wanted.

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot!" L'gann suddenly exclaimed. He retook his seat and pointed to the Fett brothers. "There's something I need you two to do before we can even start the Mand'alor Competition. So, for some reason both the Empire and Republic have taken an interest in this event to decide a new leader and have asked to send emissaries to view the events and participate as impartial judges." L'gann shrugged his shoulders and gave a small snort, "Yeah, as if they have no ulterior motives. Anyway, the clan leaders said they could send one judge each and a small group to watch the proceedings. This is where you two come in."

A sly grin appeared on L'gann's face as he stroked his chin. "See, the thing is, I may have given them each the… uh, "wrong coordinates" to land their ships while they stay here." L'gann chuckled to himself. "Last thing we need is for foreign representatives to try and kill each other in their sleep on our planet. So, Galbon, I need you to go get the Imperial entourage and Xerxes to go get our Republic visitors. Just make sure they don't get killed by the local wildlife on the way to Keldabe where they will be rooming." L'gann then handed them each the coordinates of their guests and sent the teens on their way. "I'll meet you all at the Oyu'baat Cantina." L'gann called out as they all left.

As the group of teens left L'gann's home, Galbon turned eagerly towards Xerxes. "So, bro. Since we're technically competing against each other," Galbon said with a mischievous look on his face, "How about we make this mission L'gann has given us a little more… interesting."

Xerxes knew what his brother meant by interesting. "Oh," Xerxes said mockingly, "You wanna lose another bet to your big brother?"

"No! Cause this time I'm going to win." Galbon clapped his hands together and began to explain his idea. "Here is what I propose. I say we each have to get our groups back to Keldabe without them knowing we're there for as long as we can, and whoever gets their party to the cantina first wins. Extra points for whoever remains undetected the longest." Galbon folded his arms across his chest. "So, how about it, bro?"

Xerxes folded his arms as well and mirrored Galbon's stance before speaking. "Well, what then, may I ask, are the stakes, little brother?" Even though Xerxes wasn't that much older than Galbon, he still liked to hang it over the younger boy's head.

"Let's keep it simple this time." Galbon said. "The usual." The usual meant whoever lost bought the entire group drinks at the Oyu'baat. Both Xerxes and Galbon had built up a considerable tab there over the years.

"Sounds good to me." Xerxes nodded approvingly. "How about we each have a small team of two others to accompany us? Say uh…Vlad, Akiza and me against you, Mark and Donni'ika?" Xerxes knew he'd stand a better chance with his best team. He also knew that setting his brother up with two younger Mandalorians could keep Galbon distracted.

However, a grin began to spread across Galbon's face. "I like those odds." He said smirking. "By the way, big bro, the rules of stealth only apply to you and me. It doesn't count if the others get found out." Galbon held out his hand towards Xerxes. "So, is it a deal?"

Xerxes thrust out his right hand and clasped Galbon's hand with it. "The game is on." Xerxes replied.

"Great. I'll see ya when you're paying for my drink." Galbon called out as he rushed away to grab his team. Xerxes chuckled to himself as he watched Galbon race away. Sometimes they had way too much fun. Xerxes turned around and gazed into the faces of both Vlad and Akiza, who were looking at him expectantly.

"Alright!" Xerxes said, placing his hands on his hips. "I take it that you heard what Galbon and I were discussing. Which means you know the rules and you know what's at stake. Don't let our guests from the Republic see us for as long as possible and get back to the Oyu'baat as quickly as possible. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir!" They both cried out, knowing how serious Xerxes and Galbon took their bets.

"Alright then." Xerxes gestured with his hand, indicating for them to follow. "Let's do this one by the books."

….

The trek to the coordinates for the Republic representatives was a quiet one. Since time was paramount, Xerxes didn't bother grabbing any gear other than what he already had on him. His trusty shotgun and basic armor was all that he would need. Vlad and Akiza however were fully equipped from their earlier hunting trip from Tatooine and ready to go. Which was just fine with Xerxes. The less armor he wore, the better prepared for stealth he would be. The coordinates of the Republic landing site led to a clearing in the forest about twenty minutes north west of Keldabe. As the young Mandalorians arrived they found the clearing to be empty. The Republic hadn't arrived yet.

Xerxes took a quick look around and began to plan his strategy. "Alright, here's the plan." he began, "We'll stick to the cover of the foliage and keep the local wildlife from eating our guests. Don't let them know you're there unless absolutely necessary." Suddenly the sound of a starship's engines could be heard approaching at a high speed. Xerxes quickly added his final instructions. "We'll keep in touch on our comlinks. Let's move!"

The three teenagers split up and hide in different parts of the forest around the clearing. Xerxes dared to be as close as possible to the edge in order to have a clear vantage point. From overhead, a large, Republic cruiser appeared over the clearing and began its slow decent until its landing struts hit the ground. The cruiser was a dark-red color and the exhaust from the thrusters could be smelled all over the clearing. At first all was quiet and nothing happened. Then the loading ramp opened from underneath the cockpit area. A handful of protocol droids and a human walked down the ramp followed by a strange looking alien wearing a mask and goggles. Xerxes could hear the human complaining to the alien about having to land so far from the city. The alien simply observed his surroundings and seemed calm.

"Hey, Xerxes. What's with the alien's face?" Vlad asked through his headset.

"That's a Kel Dor, Vlad. Their species doesn't do so well in oxygen rich atmospheres, so they wear the mask and goggles to protect themselves."

Akiza chimed in. "It makes him look intimidating."

"I suppose." Xerxes said. "But more than that, he's not just a Kel Dor. He is a Jedi."


	4. Ch3 The Jedi

**The Trials of Mand'alor**

 **Chapter 3**

 **The Jedi**

They had landed a fair amount away from the city of Keldabe. Either by accident or on purpose on the part of the Mandalorians, but whatever their reason, Jedi Master Tai Zhan was not worried about it. One of the young Knights that had accompanied him however, had other opinions on the matter.

"This is stupid!" The young man grumbled. "They couldn't have sent us out any further from the main city. What, do they expect us to walk there?!"

Master Zhan raised his hand. "Calm yourself, Ru-Benn. There is no need to become upset. Remember, there is no emotion…"

"There is peace. Right." Ru-Benn sighed. "So, should we walk there or what?"

The Jedi Master turned his head, looked round and sought guidance from the Force. He felt a peace come over him. "I believe that we should, otherwise we will never meet our hosts." Suddenly he felt a presence in the Force. Master Zhan whipped his head towards the edge of the clearing. They were being watched, by no more than three people. However, one of them had grabbed his attention more than the others.

Without saying anything Master Zhan walked calmly towards their would-be stalker. He could sense no malice or violent intentions coming from this person. But Master Zhan didn't like being followed. As he approached the foliage the Jedi Master could sense fear emanating from his stalker. Then suddenly nothing. Master Zhan stopped in his tracks. Wait, what just happened? The Kel Dor turned his head back and forth in confusion. The presence was gone. Master Zhan reached out with the Force to assess the situation. He could feel the other ambassadors on the ship, the droids, Ru-Benn and even the other two Mandalorians hiding nearby. But the person who should've been right in front of him was just gone. Almost as if they had never existed. Hiding in the Force was one thing, but completely disappearing? Master Zhan was more confused than ever.

Ru-Benn walked up to the perplexed Kel Dor. "What is it, Master?" He couldn't be sure, but Master Zhan had a theory growing as to what may have happened. For now, though, he would let it be and see what would happen next. "Nothing." the Jedi Master lied. "It's just been a long time since I've been to Mandalore. We should get moving."

* * *

As the Jedi walked away from him, Xerxes couldn't help but feel relief and confusion at the same time. He was almost certain the Master had sensed him and was going to expose him. But why had the Master stopped short? Why did he seem to have lost Xerxes? As far as Xerxes could tell nothing had happened to stop the Jedi. What was going on?

"Xerxes!" Akiza's voice through the headset brought Xerxes out of his thoughts. "What happened? I thought he was going to find you for sure."

"I thought so, too. I'm not sure why he didn't."

Vlad was more curious about what the Jedi had said. "Yeah, but what did he mean by he hadn't been to Mandalore in a long time?"

Xerxes put his hand up to his headset. "I'm not sure. But I feel like there's more to this Jedi than we realize." Whatever he was, Xerxes intended to find out more about this Jedi Master and what his connection to Mandalore was. "Anyway, let's tail them to Keldabe and make sure they don't know we're here. Oh, and try to keep most of the deadly predators away from them."

"Right!" the siblings replied.

The trip back to Keldabe was relatively uneventful. The pace of the Jedi was fairly slow, and apart from the occasional grumbling from the younger Jedi, there was no conversation to glean any information from. Xerxes and his group followed as stealthily as possible. Driving away the occasional predator that would get too close to the Jedi without them knowing there had been a predator to begin with. Xerxes noticed that the Kel Dor would occasionally glance in the direction of Vlad or Akiza, but never towards him. Did he really not know Xerxes was there, and if so, what was preventing the Jedi's senses from detecting him?

Suddenly a high-pitched scream from overhead brought Xerxes out of his pondering. A shriek-hawk had begun to dive bomb the Jedi. Xerxes cursed himself for getting distracted. The shriek-hawk was already too far into the dive to prevent it from landing a hit on the younger Jedi. Xerxes was about to jump out of hiding to attack the beast, but he didn't have to. Akiza had already made the decision to leap out of a tree and land on the shriek-hawk. While the creature was caught off guard, the Jedi were not surprised at all to see her appear from nowhere. This confirmed Xerxes' theory that the Jedi knew they were there. Akiza moved with incredible agility as she flashed her daggers from their holsters and into the beast's chest. The shriek-hawk died before it could even retaliate. The younger Jedi, however, was much quicker than the beast and in the blink of an eye he had Akiza in a head lock with his lightsaber at her throat. "I knew you were following us, Mandi!" the Jedi cried out.

Before Xerxes could even think, Vlad had appeared behind the Jedi with his blaster pushed against the Jedi's head. In an intimidating voice, Vlad threatened the Jedi. "Get your lightsaber out of my sister's face right now, _Jetti_ 1! Or die where you stand."

Things were quickly getting out of hand. Xerxes decided it would be best to step in before someone got killed.

* * *

"Enough!" A voice that was neither strong nor harsh had spoken behind them, but it was a voice that carried authority with it. Master Tai Zhan slowly turned around and watched as a young man with curly copper hair emerged from the nearby shrubbery. As he did, Master Zhan could feel the boy's presence in the Force reappear as well. So, there had been someone there the whole time. But how had he masked his presence so well? Mandalorians couldn't use the Force, could they? Then again, Tai Zhan knew better than to underestimate the Mandalorians and this young man had a presence about him.

While he was not dressed in nearly as much armor as his companions or as physically built as most Mandalorians, the Jedi Master could tell that this was a young man of strength, courage and someone who could bear the burden of leadership well. Not only that, but Master Zhan could feel the Force telling him that this young man would be important to the future of Mandalore.

* * *

The Kel Dor Jedi just stood there and sized up Xerxes. He made no move other than to glance at Xerxes and stare at him. Xerxes felt like he had somehow surprised the Jedi. The younger Jedi had whipped around with a perplexed look on his face when Xerxes had emerged from the brush. Had he not sensed Xerxes either? This was definitely something worth investigating, but that was something he could focus on later.

"Vlad, lower your blaster." He demanded. Vlad's grip on his blaster tightened. Xerxes could tell he was uncertain of whether or not he could trust this Jedi not to harm Akiza. If he was right, Xerxes knew that Jedi didn't believe in attacking unarmed people and putting away their weapons was the best way to keep a brawl from breaking out. "That's an order, Vlad."

Vlad reluctantly holstered his blaster and stepped away from the Jedi. "Now then," Xerxes began as he slung his shotgun over his shoulder and walked towards the younger Jedi. "If you would be so kind as to release my friend we can avoid any bloodshed. You are after all our guests, right?"

The red-haired Jedi looked wary. He turned his eyes towards the Master for guidance. The Kel Dor raised his hand and spoke very calmly, "It's alright Ru-Benn. They are our guides and have been for some time now."

Ru-Benn then deactivated his lightsaber and released Akiza from his grip. "I apologize." he said rather grudgingly. "I acted without thinking."

Xerxes shrugged his shoulders, "No harm done. Although in the future I'd advise against randomly attacking Mandalorians, especially the women. They can be just as deadly and unpredictable."

Ru-Benn glanced towards Akiza, a look of dawning apprehension barely visible on his face as she glared at him. "Noted."

"I should apologize as well." Xerxes turned his attention towards the Kel Dor Jedi. "My brother and I had a bet for how long we could go undetected."

The Jedi Master chuckled softly, "Ah, the competitive nature of the Mandalorians. It is nothing to apologize for. I suppose though that we should introduce ourselves. I am Jedi Master Tai Zhan, but while I'm here you may simply call me Tai. I'm the impartial judge the Republic has sent for the competition." He then gestured towards the younger Jedi. "And this is Ru-Benn Jinn, who was recently made a Jedi Knight. So, forgive him if he seems a bit eager."

"Charmed." Akiza said with just a bit too much venom to her tone. She clearly didn't appreciate being manhandled. Xerxes made a mental note to make sure that no further incidents happened between Jedi and Mandalorians. The last thing he wanted was to start a war or cause a rift between potential allies.

Xerxes decided he'd better return the pleasantries, "My name is Xerxes Fett. This is Akiza Gev and her brother Vladimir Ordo."

Ru-Benn's brow furrowed in confusion. "Wait. You're siblings and you have different last names? How does that work?"

Xerxes was about to answer, but apparently Tai knew more about Mandalorian culture than he had let on. The Kel Dor's voice reverberated through his rebreather, "Mandalorians are known for adopting children and war orphans on a frequent basis. It's not uncommon for siblings to end up having different last names. In many ways, it is similar to how we recruit members into the Jedi Order, but they do it for very different reasons."

Xerxes nodded and added, "I was adopted as well and something my Father taught me was, 'If the only hide you look after is your own, then you're not a real man."

"He sounds like a very wise man." Tai replied. He then addressed the group, "And of course it is what brings us here today. The previous leader, Mand'alor the Father, had adopted several children ranging to over a hundred. Because of that there is no definitive heir and we are going to be participating in shaping Mandalore's history by helping to decide which of his children is worthy of that role."

Xerxes couldn't help but be impressed. It seemed Tai Zhan's knowledge of Mandalore was very intimate. It caused Xerxes to wonder where he had learned all of it. There was a lot more to this Jedi than he had first thought and Xerxes was starting to like him. Xerxes could even see himself becoming friends with the Master. Galbon would probably not approve at all. Xerxes then remembered he was still in a race against Galbon to get Keldabe first.

"Not to seem pushy," Xerxes stepped forward with urgency, "But we are on a bit of a schedule and I'd prefer not to have to buy my brother's drinks again for showing up late."

"Of course." Tai turned in the direction of Keldabe. "We should get moving. I'm eager to see Keldabe and its residents again. Lead the way, Xerxes."

The trip back to Keldabe could not have been any more uncomfortable. While they had made good time, no one knew how to initiate a conversation. Akiza and Vlad were apprehensive of the Jedi, especially Ru-benn who appeared to have something against Mandalorians. Tai Zhan was the biggest mystery though and Akiza seemed very interested in discussing it. In a hushed voice, she asked Xerxes what he thought. "So, how do you suppose that Tai knows so much about us?"

Xerxes took a moment to ponder the possibilities before answering. "Well, he knows a lot, but it seems like his knowledge is more than just secondhand. If I had to guess, I'd say he may have lived with Mandalorians for a good amount of time."

"But where could he have done that?" Akiza asked as she glanced back at the Jedi Master over her shoulder. "Jedi don't normally live away from their temples and most Mandalorians don't trust the Jedi enough to let them live anywhere near us."

"I'm not sure. But I think he'll tell us when he's ready." Akiza raised an eyebrow in confusion as to how Xerxes could know that. "Just call it a hunch." he assured her.

The forest then cleared in front of them to overlook the city of Keldabe. Xerxes took a moment to soak it in. He had always liked just gazing at Keldabe and taking in the city on the hill. Packed together were an array of eclectic buildings of all shapes and sizes, each made from different materials ranging from plastoid and durasteel to stone and wood. The city defied any conventional style of architecture and there was almost no rhyme or reason to it when homes and small businesses were found right next to warehouses. Anyone from Coruscant would feel claustrophobic as many of the streets and alley ways were almost too close together. It was easily Xerxes favorite place on the planet.

Of course, not everyone could appreciate Keldabe's rustic nature. "This place looks horrendous." Ru-benn's voice stated from behind them. "Who was the genius behind this architectural hurricane?" Even if Xerxes couldn't get this Jedi to be friendly, he was at least going to educate him on the Mandalorian culture.

"There have been several alien species on Mandalore over the millenia." Xerxes said turning towards the red headed Jedi. "Each one has preferred a different style of architecture. So, we have used whatever is available and if the building is still inhabitable there is no point in tearing it down. Someone will need it."

Ru-benn stared at Xerxes with indifference, but said nothing more on the subject. Xerxes didn't expect him to change his attitude towards Mandalorians anytime soon. Tai Zhan seemed to have different ideas. "Xerxes, why don't you give us a brief tour of the important landmarks of Keldabe? I could use some reacquainting with the city."

Xerxes liked Tai's suggestion. He turned his attention towards the city and started to determine which aspects of Keldabe were the most important to note. "All right." Xerxes began. "Let's see… You see the tallest durasteel tower that goes over a hundred meters? That is Mandal Motors. It's where all our weapons and ships get made, along with any prototypes and it's where our iron workers take raw _beskar_ 2 and fold it into _besgam_ 3 and _beskads_ 4, and so on and so forth. Mandal Motors is a greater source of income than our agriculture."

Ru-benn looked to Xerxes in confusion. "You mean you guys plant food? I thought all you did was work for Hutts or as mercenaries."

"We do whatever it takes to survive." Xerxes was glad for the chance to show that Mandalorians weren't the butchers that the galaxy thought they were. "While mercenary work can be lucrative, our roots for survival have always been farming, fighting and mechanics. Most people tend to do all three if not more. If you don't have those skills, the wildlife usually ends up taking your life."

Ru-benn's face was contemplative as he took in this new information. Xerxes smiled as he returned to pointing out Keldab's landmarks. "Towards the center is the old citadel. It now serves as a coliseum and battle ground for young Mandalorians to prove their worth. I imagine most of the events for the Mand'alor Competition will be taking place there."

"The newest addition is outside the city itself. Down past the south end of the hill and just beyond the Kelita River is our new Swoop Bike track. It's a personal favorite of mine and it has begun to bring in money for Mandalore. We're hoping to open it up further and add a section on for Pod Racers."

Tai Zhan stroked his chin in contemplation, "It would be just the right amount of chance and skill for young warriors, as well as for gambling, to become a Mandalore favorite. I should like to see the Pod Racer track become an official Galactic circuit."

Xerxes really hoped that one day that would be the case. He would enjoy seeing the galaxy and Mandalore have something in common that brought them together. Xerxes shook himself back to reality and continued. "Then, of course, we have what can only be considered a five-star eatery and inn, the Oyu'baat Cantina. Why, it's so popular, that it serves as the weekly gathering place of all the clan leaders." Xerxes turned to the Jedi and sarcastically added. "You could say it is our unofficial government building." While Ru-benn appeared to have taken it seriously, Akiza, Vlad and Tai all chuckled at Xerxes remark. The Mandalorians didn't believe in conventional government and considered politicians to be all words and no action. But Ru-benn didn't understand the joke and could only look on, perplexed at the Jedi Master's reaction.

As he did, Ru-benn noticed something and pointed towards the far north of the city. "What is that building over there?"

Xerxes turned towards where Ru-benn was pointing and found his attention drawn towards a large granite structure atop the hill and just beyond the forest. Xerxes tone became unusually somber as he described the building in question. "That is Mand'alor's Mansion. The official estate of all Mand'alors in the planets history. It has also been Keldab's underground bunker, armory and treasury. Though at the moment, it's more like a museum since no one has lived in it since…"

Tai walked over to Xerxes and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Since the passing of Mand'alor the Father." Xerxes couldn't help, but notice that Tai also seemed somehow forlorn as he gazed upon the granite estate. Xerxes' father, Abram had lived there from time to time, though Xerxes had never been inside himself. Tai turned his head and looked at Xerxes. He could see a soft smile form underneath Tai's mask. "But soon that will all change." The Jedi Master stated, "It may even become yours to own, Xerxes." Tai held his gaze as Xerxes' mind processed the meaning behind his words. If Xerxes won the Mand'alor Competition, not only would he be Mand'alore and the new leader of his people, but Mand'alor's Mansion would be his new place of residence. Along with everything in it being his to own.

Xerxes could feel the weight of that leadership and responsibility slowly bearing down upon him as the more he thought about it, the more he realized how much of a burden not only he would bear, but the burden his father and all the other Mand'alors before him had born. Xerxes felt his stomach churn at the mere thought of it, even though he had not been named the new Mand'alor. Tai must have sensed Xerxes apprehension as he was brought out of his thoughts by Tai's sure voice. "As long as you put forth your best effort, Xerxes, the Force will guide Mandalore's new leader into his place. Of that I am confident."

Xerxes felt the peace of Tai's words wash away his doubts and nodded in agreement. "Alright, then." Xerxes announced. "That's a brief overview of Keldabe. We should get to the Oyu'baat before my brother Galbon beats us there." The two other Mandalorians and Jedi Knight wore odd looks on their faces. Ru-benn seemed very concerned about how close Xerxes and Tai were becoming and Akiza and Vlad were staring at the Jedi Master as if he had outright declared that Xerxes would be the new Mand'alore. They all slowly turned away and made their way down the path towards the cantina. Xerxes stayed put as they each left and took one last look at Mand'alor's Mansion. He decided that he would make it one more reason to obtain his goal of following his father's legacy and make it his new home. Xerxes then turned his gaze upon Akiza and watched as her long red bangs fluttered in the wind.

Maybe he could make it the home of his future family as well.

* * *

1 Mandalorian word for Jedi

2 Iron found only on Mandalore and its moon Concordia. Its naturally lightsaber resistant.

3 Armor, Lit. translation; iron skin

4 Curved blades


	5. Ch4 The Sith

**The Trials of Mand'alor**

 **Chapter 4**

The Sith

Upon entering the Oyu'baat Cantina, Xerxes was hit with a wave of revelry and carefree spirits. Almost every booth was packed with patrons all drinking or placing bets on the events being shown on the holoscreens. An array of events ranging from Pod Racing to Hutt-ball and gladiator matches on Geonosis could be viewed on the screens. The smell of livestock from outside where the owner of the establishment kept his animals wafted in through the windows. Thankfully the smells of sweet and spicy ales from the bar were there to overpower the musty animal smells. Whatever further doubts about the future Xerxes felt were consumed in the cheerful atmosphere of his people. Xerxes realized in that moment that even without an active Mand'alor, life on Mandalore went on and the people generally governed themselves. If he did become the new Mand'alor, he would really only have to deal with the incredibly important issues and concerns of the day that Mandalore would face.

Xerxes began to scan the cantina in search of his brother. He quickly found the table where L'gann sat, nursing a drink and quite alone. Galbon hadn't beaten him there. Which meant that as soon as he walked in, Galbon was paying for the whole group's drinks. Xerxes smirked to himself and made his way to L'gann, leading the rest of the group towards the clan leader. When they reached the table, L'gann looked up and then immediately sprang to his feet and sauntered over to Tai Zhan with a frown on his face. The sudden change in attitude caught Xerxes off guard and he became worried that L'gann may have been drunk and was going to take a punch at the Jedi Master. L'gann stood there, with his hands in his pockets and his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses, regarding the Jedi. Tai stood with equal mystery as he waited for L'gann to say or do something. When nothing happened, Tai held his hand out towards L'gann and said in perfect Mandalorian, "Su cuy'gar, Vod!"

Everyone within earshot of the Jedi was stunned. He had just greeted L'gann in a way that suggested an incredible familiarity between the two. What was more surprising was when L'gann grasped Tai's hand with his own and a huge grin broke out across his face. "It's good to see you too old friend." Then the two men pulled each other in for a brotherly hug, with pats and all. "It's been far too long, Tai!"

"Too long for my liking, indeed." Tai Zhan pulled back so he could get a better look at L'gann. "Still sporting those ridiculous glasses to look cool, I see."

"And look at you! The prodigal knight returned to _Manda'yaim_ 1."

"Ha, it's Jedi Master now."

"Oh. Forgive me, Master." L'gann held up his arms in mock surrender as he spoke to the people around him. "Look out, everyone. We got a Jedi Master up in the cantina. Better put on your Sunday best."

The two men continued to laugh and poke fun at one another. All the while, Xerxes, and company were still trying to wrap their minds around the events that were transpiring before them. A Jedi and a Mandalorian were… being friendly? As friends?! Akiza was the first to have the sense to ask what was going on.

"Um, Dad?" Akiza put a hand on her father's arm to gain his attention. "How do you know Master Zhan and why didn't you tell us you had a…friend? In the Jedi Order?"

"Hmm?" L'gann once again was dragged back to his surroundings by his daughter. He stared at her wondering why she would ask such a question until he realized why he had never mentioned it before. L'gann clapped his hands together and turned to Tai. "That's right! I never told them about you!"

L'gann quickly went back to his booth and gestured for everyone else to follow him. "C'mon, take a seat. I'll tell you everything." The teenagers all sat down at the table. Ru-benn seemed the most concerned as if everything he once held dear was about to be brought into question. Xerxes and Vlad leaned in with curiosity and anticipation. Akiza folded her arms and lowered her chin as she had a slight glare directed towards her father. She never did like it when people kept things from her, especially when it was the people she was closest to. It made her feel like they didn't trust her. Xerxes had learned that the hard way.

L'gann's elbows rested on the table with his hands clasped together against his mouth in contemplation. He sighed as he tried to figure out where to begin. Tai put a hand on L'gann's shoulder and spoke softly. "Why don't you start with how we first met?"

"Right. Of course." L'gann removed his sunglasses and put them on the table. Xerxes couldn't remember the last time L'gann had done that. That must have meant it was a story L'gann felt was extremely important.

"Well, it all began at the Battle of Cathar, thirteen years ago. Back when we had an alliance with the Cathar and right when the Empire decided they didn't like that. You remember how afterwards Abram and I had adopted you, kids?" Xerxes, Akiza, and Vlad all nodded as they remembered being told the story several times growing up. "Well…" L'gann continued, "We never did tell you how we managed to escape Cathar. You see, the Empire had caught us totally by surprise and most of the Mandalorian colonies we had established there had already been razed by the time we were able to scramble the _Bes'uliiks_ 2\. Well, Abram and I had managed to grab a group of toddlers, now orphaned thanks to the Empire. You guys were the toddlers by the way. Anyway, we had the toddlers and we were making our way to our ships when Imperial bombers made another run and blew up the hanger. Our ships laid smoldering as smoke poured out of the destroyed hanger. Our only hope of escape cut off. The starfighters were making their way back around and had us in their sights. We had nowhere left to run and no way were we going to abandon a bunch of children to save our own skins. So, Abram and I stood our ground. Brothers in arms, and brothers in death."

By now the entire group had leaned in, entranced by L'gann's storytelling. Akiza had even forgotten how upset she had been at her father. L'gann always did have a special way of weaving a story that caused people to become ensnared by his tales. Even the patrons who were closest to them had gone silent as they listened to L'gann recount the events of Cathar.

"Just as we had accepted our fates, the Imperial starfighters exploded as a small Republic dropship unloaded a volley of gunfire on them. This ship came out of nowhere and was doing tricks meant for small starfighters! It was amazing! Whoever was piloting that thing must've been a legend!" L'gann had begun throwing his arms around in excitement. "The entire squad of Imperial bombers. Gone in just mere seconds! All thanks to one dropship. The odds were astronomical! Then the ship lands in front of the hanger. Out of the ship walks the strangest looking alien I've ever seen, wearing these stupid looking, drab robes. He walks up to us and says," L'gann cupped a hand over his mouth and did the best impression of his friend that he could, "My name is Jedi Knight Tai Zhan and I'm here to help." Everyone looked to Tai in disbelief, unsure if L'gann may have been stretching the truth or not. Tai merely nodded with a smile under his mask and waited for L'gann to continue.

"So, we all load up into Tai's ship, which he had commandeered, by the way. Apparently, he wasn't supposed to be there in the first place, but he had defied orders and went to save anyone he could. We all escaped, I adopted Akiza and Vlad and Abram adopted Xerxes and Galbon. The last children he would ever adopt." L'gann ended by folding his arms leaning his chair back and smirking at Tai.

Vlad turned to Tai. "So, the Jedi didn't want you to come and save a bunch of warmongers like us, but you did anyway?"

Tai leaned forward as he added his part of the story, "Yes. There were and are several members of the Jedi Order who do not have the kindest feelings towards the Mandalorians. I had just recently been made a Jedi Knight at the time when we received a distress signal from Cathar and of course, the Council would hear none of it from a young, reckless knight, such as I was. But I felt that not helping was against the Jedi teachings and against my own moral code, so I borrowed a ship and did what I felt was the right thing. Of course, the Council chastised me for my utter disregard afterward. Then to add insult to injury, I requested to be made the Jedi Watchmen of the Mandalore sector. I think they only granted my request from fear that I would corrupt the younger minds of the Academy if I was allowed to return to Tython."

The small group laughed at Tai's remarks about the council. Ru-benn however, appeared to be very uncomfortable as he listened to the Jedi Master slander the Jedi council. It was probably his first-time hearing about how Tai had openly defied the council and saved what most Jedi would consider a deadly enemy. Although Tai Zhan had not been the Jedi Master to train him, Ru-benn had still held him in high regard.

"So why did you do it?" Akiza asked Tai. "Decide to stay in the Mandalore sector, I mean?"

Tai folded his arms and considered Akiza's question. "Well, during the trip from Cathar to Mandalore, I got to know Abram and L'gann. And after seeing them risk their lives for you and the type of men they were, I wanted to know more. It wasn't long after that, that I fell in love with the planet, its culture and its people. I considered Mandalore to be a second home and while most of the Clan leaders didn't like having a Jedi live here, they allowed me to stay nearby Keldabe for many years. If only because I had become best friends with Abram and L'gann. We had several adventures together, the three of us."

L'gann began to recall other stories he could tell. "Oh, like that time we saved that stuck up Senator from a bar fight by pretending to be his bodyguards?"

Tai began to recount their adventures as well. "Or the time we each took a Basilisk War Droid to a contested war zone on Kashyyk and almost single-handedly won the battle!"

"Or that time we went to Korriban and we…" L'gann's voice began to falter, "We…"

Xerxes and Akiza side glanced at each other. They had both picked up on L'gann and Tai's sudden mood change. It was rare, but when something bothered L'gann it was unmistakable and Tai was uncharacteristically quiet. Korriban must have been a memory L'gann and Tai didn't like to relive. Which for Xerxes, meant one thing. It had to do with his father.

"What happened on Korriban?" Xerxes asked softly. L'gann reached for his sunglasses with his left hand and quickly put them on, but not before Xerxes saw the pain in L'gann's eyes. Xerxes raised his voice and asked again more forcefully, "What happened on Korriban?"

"Dad?" Akiza was concerned. It was just like when Xerxes had closed himself off when his father had died. L'gann sighed and chewed the inside of his cheek, not wanting to relive this one story.

Tai spoke softly to L'gann, "They deserve to know the truth." L'gann turned his head towards Tai, then back to Xerxes, then down at the table. He sighed and got up out of his chair. It had become so quiet that the squeak of the chair echoed around them. "Fine," L'gann said putting his hands in his pockets. "But if we're going to tell this story, I'm gonna need a drink first." He then quietly made his way to the bar.

Tai's gaze followed L'gann as he left before turning his attention back to the rest of the group. "You'll have to forgive him. It has been a long time since either of us openly discussed the events of our last adventure and it's not a pleasant memory for us." The look Xerxes gave him was piercing. The longing and desire for information in his eyes beat against Tai's will until he knew that he could no longer deprive the boy of a story he so desperately needed to hear.

"I suppose this story really starts with me." Tai clasped his hands together in front of him on the table before beginning his tale. "You see, the three of us had come to not only think ourselves invincible, but we had also taken to treasure hunting and one day I heard some curious rumors about the planet Korriban. Korriban is an ancient Sith world. It is hot, dry, barren, and has a harsh law of survival. It also happens to be the burial grounds of several ancient Sith Lords, all in grand tombs buried with their weapons, artifacts, and treasures. Among them had been rumored to be an ancient Sith text or holocron of sorts concerning ancient Sith magic and rituals. Not only would this be knowledge the Jedi Council would wish to keep out of Sith hands, but it was also an opportunity to raid their weapons and resources. We figured that we would go unnoticed since it was a burial world and we had gone prepared for any booby traps and ancient Sith spirits that still haunted the planet's tombs."

"Except we weren't." L'gann had returned to the table with a rather large tankard in his hand. He slumped down into his chair and took a hearty swig before continuing where Tai had left off. "Those tombs had some nasty traps. There were a few times we came close to joining the dead in those caverns. I'm not sure what Tai could sense in there, but even I could feel some dark presence following us in there. Made my skin crawl and I even swore I thought I heard someone whispering in my ears along the way. Even though we managed to get some sweet loot we never did find those Sith texts."

L'gann took another swig of his drink and considered his tankard as he forced memories of the past into the light. "What we found in the valley of the Sith Lords was a far more pressing matter. An ambush. Turns out the planet isn't as lifeless as we thought. We found a Sith academy with students and acolytes training there. What's more, was that not only did they venture into the tombs often as part of their training, but our ship had also been seen landing on the cliffs and they had been waiting for us." L'gann's gaze continued to stay transfixed on his drink, refusing to make eye contact with anyone around him.

Xerxes could understand why. It was the story that L'gann had refused to tell him all those years ago, the night his father died and he was likely feeling extremely guilty for it. L'gann took a deep breath and continued, "We fought back as best we could and even used the tomb's traps to get away from the Sith Assassins, but they had the home-field advantage and kept on us pretty hard. I'll bet there may have even been a master or two with them. We knew it was a losing battle and our only hope was to escape back through the tombs and reach our ship. It was there in the last stretch of the tomb that Abram realized we weren't going to make it. So, he stopped, turned around and told us to keep going and that he would hold them off while we made it to the ship. We begged him to come with us. We told him that we could all get out, but he insisted and promised that he would be right behind us. *sigh* He wasn't. While we were taking off we could still hear him over our hunting commlinks, fighting those bastards. He was doing fine, but I guess they overwhelmed him. They had demanded to know who we were and promised his life in exchange for ours. I'll never forget what he said to them. He declared, 'I am Mand'alor the Father and I would rather die than sell out my friends to you filthy _shebs_ 3.' Then we heard the _dar'jetti_ 4 grant his wish before the signal cut out." L'gann looked emotionally exhausted and very grim. He took one final long swig of his drink to numb the pain.

Xerxes, however, wasn't convinced. "But that doesn't mean he died." Xerxes reasoned. "You could've just gone beyond the range of the communicators or something and he could still be out there. He.."

"I felt him die, Xerxes." Tai's voice had not been harsh, but the sting of the words cut through Xerxes nevertheless. Just as they had when he was eight years old when he was told the first time. "As sure as the feeling of new life entering the galaxy, I felt the unmistakable pull of death and the void it left behind as Abram's presence in the Force simply ended." L'gann pinched the bridge of his nose and forced his eyes closed. Tai put a hand on his shoulder and finished the story since L'gann was no longer emotionally stable enough for it. "What's more, is that after I felt it was safe enough to return, we went back and retrieved his body. They had left him on the steps of the tomb entrance where he had fought to protect his friends. A sacrifice I will never forget, but will always regret. It is also for that reason that I had to leave Mandalore and return to the Jedi Temple. Not only was I no longer welcome among the clan leaders, but the Council felt that my actions had endangered the people and requested my immediate departure. So, after burying Abram in his own tomb under Mand'alor's mansion, I did just that and did not return."

Xerxes processed everything he had been told. He had known his Father had been killed, but not brutally murdered by the Sith. As much as he wanted to blame Tai and L'gann, he knew he couldn't. His father had made the choice to go to Korriban, he had made the choice to stay behind and he had made the choice to do the honorable thing and protect his friends. If anything, Xerxes was proud of his father for dying in such a noble manner, but the pain of that loss was still great. At the very least he now knew and he could grow from that knowledge. Before he could say anything, however, the doors to the cantina burst open and in strode several figures draped in black robes, led by Galbon.

So, the Empire's emissaries had finally arrived. No doubt hoping to sway Mandalore into an alliance, seeing as they had been unaligned for several generations. Xerxes waved to Galbon to get his attention. As the Imperials made their way towards the group Xerxes heard L'gann whispering.

"Hey, Tai. You see that red-skin over there?"

"You mean the Sith Pureblood with the dark hair?"

"Yeah, that one. I think I've seen him before. I think he was there on Korriban."

Xerxes didn't turn his head knowing it would give away his eavesdropping. Instead, he leaned back in his chair ever so slightly in order to hear the two men converse better.

"Are you sure, L'gann? That was some time ago."

"No. I recognize that stupid facial jewelry. It was tacky then, it's tacky now. Besides, you should be able to recognize him with the Force, right?

There was a pause in the conversation for what Xerxes could only assume was Tai reaching out with the Force towards the Sith in question.

"His presence does feel familiar. In fact, a few of them do. L'gann, I do believe you are correct. Some of these men are the very Sith who chased us and killed Abram."

Xerxes felt his blood boil immediately. His Father had been the most important person in his life apart from Galbon. He felt something rise within him. A desire to see these Sith suffer. A desire to end their lives. A desire for revenge.

"Well, what are we waiting for? I say we end them!" L'gann's chair squeaked as he stood up.

"No! As long as they are here, they are guests and have diplomatic protection. Any action against them would be considered an act of war. A war that Mandalore is not currently equipped to deal with. For now, we must act as if nothing is amiss and treat them with as much politeness as possible. The Force is telling me they shall not prevail before their visit here is done."

"Fine. I guess we'd better greet our 'guests'."

Xerxes got up first and made his way over towards his brother, doing his best to keep his cool as he tried to figure out how to tell Galbon the things he had just learned and how to warn him. "Well, Galbon. Looks like I beat you again. You know what that means."

"Yeah, yeah.", Galbon began to back towards the bar. "Drinks are on me. I'll be back after I ring up the tab."

Xerxes' gaze followed his brother to the bar before he turned his attention towards the Sith. Xerxes jumped back as a figure had suddenly appeared silently before him. Xerxes looked up and beheld the monster in front of him. He was tall. Taller than anyone Xerxes had ever met. Unlike the other Sith, he did not wear a robe. Instead, he was clad in iron black armor and had a blood red cape that went down to the floor. Xerxes immediately took note of the extra set of arms he had. Four arms meant he could hold more weapons. Not someone to be trifled with. The Sith also wore the skull of some creature over his head. The horns of the skull flowed towards the back of his head, the fangs were large and reached down to the bottom of his chin. A chin covered in black cloth to hide his mouth. The red markings under the eye sockets clearly indicated that the wearing of a skull was a cultural thing for this Sith's race. Whatever that race was.

The most striking feature about this Sith that caused Xerxes discomfort was his eyes. They were black. Black as darkness itself and pupils of pure white. No iris. It was an image that would haunt Xerxes in his sleep as those eyes stared at him from the depths of the skull he wore. After what felt like an eternity to Xerxes, the Sith finally spoke. As he did, Xerxes felt his insides chill, as the voice he heard spoke with an ethereal presence. Not harsh or quiet, but there was a gravity and mystery to it that held no compassion within it. If death had a voice, Xerxes was certain this was what it sounded like. "Do not be too quick to judge your brother. He remained hidden until we reached Keldabe. None of us knew he was even there. An impressive skill if you ask me."

Xerxes wasn't sure how to respond. The sudden terror that gripped his feet into place as the Sith's eyes bored into him, made his boots feel as if they weighed a hundred pounds each. Thankfully Xerxes didn't have to respond. L'gann had finally walked up behind Xerxes and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Well, that's just how we train them here on Mandalore. We don't want our enemies to know when we're following them, do we?"

Xerxes guessed the hidden meaning in L'gann's words. He was giving the Sith a warning. Whether the Sith felt threatened or not, he did not betray any emotion. "A wise tactic that all should be aware of.", the Sith replied, folding his arms. He stared at L'gann and regarded him before turning his attention towards Tai, who had just walked up to them. "Ah." the Sith began. "Jedi Master Tai Zhan. I should have realized the Council would send its best emissary to Mandalore. I trust your return has been a welcome one?"

So, the Sith were aware that Tai had good relations with the Mandalorians. However, they didn't seem to realize L'gann and Tai's connection to the events of Korriban or, at least if they did, they made no mention of it.

Tai spoke to the Sith in an incredibly polite manner. "Yes. The return to Mandalore has been one I needed. I thank you for your concern, Darth Verror." Finally, a name for the creature before them. "I wasn't aware the Emperor would be sending his right-hand man to oversee the Mand'alor Competition."

Right-hand? As in second in command of the entire Empire?! The more Darth Verror was around him, the less confident Xerxes felt. Xerxes doubted that this Sith was at Korriban. He would've recognized L'gann and Tai immediately. Which meant, for the time being, Xerxes had no quarrel with the Sith Lord. Which suited him just fine. Xerxes didn't think his chances of fighting the second most powerful Sith in the whole galaxy would be that good anyway.

"Come now, Master Zhan. Let's not stand on pretense." Verror's upper arms remained folded as his lower arms spread out in a public speaking fashion. "The coming of a new Mand'alor is far too important of an event for anyone of importance to not be in attendance."

Tai quietly regarded Darth Verror's words. "So, it would seem."

"Is this really where we will be staying my Lord?" The red-skinned Sith that L'gann had pointed out had joined in on the conversation. His skin was blood red and he did indeed have some tacky facial jewelry. Not rings, but more like plates? It looked odd to Xerxes. "I mean this place is filthy! Just on the way in I saw that the owner keeps a herd of Roba out behind his building. It's disgusting!"

"Well, if you don't like it here...", L'gann had stepped towards the Sith pureblood with his chest puffed out and an attitude to match. "Then you don't have to stay here, but the Oyu'baat is the best on Mandalore. You won't find any better." L'gann was clearly drunk and wasn't doing very well at keeping his hatred for the Sith or for people who thought themselves above the Mandalorian's rustic lifestyle under control. Then again, this man had been there to take part in murdering Abram. Xerxes was surprised L'gann hadn't started throwing punches at the Sith.

"If I wanted your opinion, Mando, I would've asked for it.", The Sith Pureblood hissed at L'gann.

Galbon quickly jumped in between the two men with a tankard of spirits in each of his hands. "Hey, now. No offense was meant on either side, right? So, you don't like this cantina? That's fine. Er, what sort of place would be more to your liking Lord Avarus?"

Avarus glanced down at the drinks in Galbon's hands and smirked. "You seem to be a man of taste Galbon. I like that. Tell me, do you know of any places where a man can receive his fill of, uh, 'Recreational Scolding'? If you catch my meaning?"

It took a moment for Galbon to process what Avarus was getting at, but his face lit up when comprehension dawned on him. "Oh! I gotcha." Galbon had a wide grin on his face. "Well, the best place for that would be our illustrious red-light sector. It's a bit out of the way, but I can guarantee that it is certainly worth it."

Xerxes quickly grabbed his brother by the shoulders and began to steer him away from the Sith. "Ha ha ha ha! Could you excuse us while I talk to my brother?" Once Xerxes felt they were well out of earshot he dropped the embarrassed grin and gave his brother a very stern look. "What the heck do you think you're doing, Galbon?"  
"What? I'm just being a good host and showing them around."

"By taking them to the red-light sector?! Yeah, real classy place. And how do you know whether or not it is worth it to go there in the first place?" Xerxes mind immediately came up with an answer for him and he quickly regretted it. "You know what? On second thought, I don't want to know." Holding his face in his hands, Xerxes continued, "Anyways that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Xerxes quickly recounted the things he had learned about their Father's death to Galbon who was keeping his face as neutral as possible. Galbon's gaze slowly moved over the Sith as he asked, "Are you sure? That was years ago."

"L'gann seemed pretty sure of himself and Tai confirmed his suspicions using the Force."

"Okay, without turning around, do you know which ones were actually there or who it was who did the deed?"  
"No idea who actually performed the execution, and the only one I know was there for sure is that Avarus guy you were talking to."

Galbon's gaze held steadily on the Sith. He clearly wanted to act out and strangle the Sith as much as Xerxes or L'gann, but Galbon had better control over his emotions than they did. Galbon looked back to Xerxes. "You want me to do some secret recon and find out who was there at Korriban and who actually did it?"

Xerxes bit his lip in contemplation. If they were going to avenge their Father at all, it would be wise to get some actual hard evidence before doing anything else. On the other hand, Xerxes wasn't thrilled with the idea of sending his brother alone against an entire entourage of Sith lords. But Galbon did seem to already be on the Sith's good side and if Xerxes didn't allow Galbon to find out what he could, they'd never learn anything.

"Alright," Xerxes said looking Galbon in the eye. "You go as undercover as you can. Don't let them know what your real intentions are and bro?" Xerxes placed a hand on Galbon's shoulder. "Come back alive, okay?"

Galbon put down the drinks, mirrored Xerxes and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'll find out what we need." Galbon let his arm slide off his brother's shoulder and began to walk over to the Sith. Galbon then turned around and gestured towards Xerxes, saying, "If anything, you should be worried about the Jedi hitting on your girl." He then led the Imperials out of the cantina and into the evening dusk.

Xerxes watched him leave, his brow furrowed in confusion. Jedi doing what to who? He then turned towards the table they had all been sitting at and saw what Galbon had meant. The Jedi Knight, Ru-benn, was closely involved in a conversation with Akiza. A little too closely to her for Xerxes' liking. This particular Jedi was getting on his last nerve. Xerxes' fists balled up in frustration as he watched Akiza smiling and allowing this outsider to flirt with her. Xerxes knew she wasn't his girlfriend or betrothed or anything like that, just his best friend. But he couldn't help but feel jealous. Besides, he knew if Akiza didn't like the attention, she was not afraid to speak her mind and tell someone off.

Xerxes sighed, unclenched his fists and chose to do nothing about it. Instead, he grabbed the two tankards of spirits that Galbon had left and walked over to join them. He walked as calmly as possible, careful not to spill his drinks or his emotions. As he did he overheard a little of what Ru-benn had been talking to her about.

"I mean if anything, I'd think that Galbon guy has a better chance of being the next Mand'alor than Xerxes does. Heck, a gundark has a better chance. That guy is such a string bean compared to everyone else." Xerxes had been more than aware of his own physical stature for several years and how he differed from his peers, but hearing it from an outsider made him feel more aware of it. Xerxes didn't like how this Jedi was making him feel about himself.

However, Akiza's smile slowly faded from her face and the glare she had earlier when they had first met Ru-benn had returned to her eyes. "For your information," she began, "that string bean happens to be my best friend and Xerxes is more than capable of holding his own against his brother and a gundark at the same time." Akiza had leaned back in her seat and folded her arms a crossed her chest. Apparently, the smile had been for show and she had just lost her patience with the young Jedi. Ru-benn picked up on this and attempted to reconcile the situation.

"Alright. I'm sorry, miss. I didn't mean to offend you. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot." Ru-benn's arm had casually dropped behind Akiza's chair. She glanced down at his arm and firmly moved out of his reach.

She had had enough. "No, I think we got off on the correct foot. Xerxes Fett is one of the strongest men I've ever met and I admire him for his strength of character. In fact, I think he will be the one to become the new Mand'alor." Xerxes' eyebrows flew up in surprise at Akiza's bold declaration of him. She had never spoken of him like that before, or at least not that he was aware of. "What's more, you should be ashamed of yourself, 'Master Jedi'." Ru-benn clearly hadn't been expecting that as his body recoiled from her as if she had physically slapped him. "I thought the Jedi believed in non-attachment and forbade love of any kind. Yet here you are, newly knighted from what I've heard, flirting and breaking the Jedi code. If your Master could see you now, I'm sure he'd be appalled. Furthermore, I prefer men who are honorable and bound to their duty." Akiza scanned Ru-benn from head to toe before finishing. "Which is apparently something you're not."

Xerxes decided he'd better step in again before a fight broke out. "Ahem." Both Ru-benn and Akiza looked up at him as he stood before their table and held up the drinks in his hands. "I'm sorry Ru-benn, but I can only carry two drinks." Xerxes shrugged his shoulders and smirked. "Skinny arms and all."

Ru-benn's mouth pressed in on itself in frustration to the point where it almost disappeared. He drummed his fingers on the table for a moment before deciding he was done for the day. "That's okay," Ru-benn said placing his hands on the table and getting up. "I don't drink anyway."

Xerxes kept his eye on Ru-benn as he walked away and up the stairs to the inn above the cantina. Xerxes then turned his attention to the woman before him. Her eyes were cast down at the table and her cheeks were flushed, either in frustration or embarrassment. Xerxes couldn't help but smile. He slid into the now available chair and slid a drink in front of Akiza. "So" Xerxes began, taking a sip of his beverage. "I'll hold him and you punch, right?"

Akiza snorted and smiled at Xerxes' attempt to ease her mood. "Thanks," she said. "But I'll be okay." Akiza pulled the drink towards her and stared down into its depths. "So how much of that did you hear, Xerxes?" Her face still pointed towards her mug as her eyes watched him through her lashes.

"Oh, just the part where he was making fun of me." Xerxes took another sip of his drink before adding, "And the part where you stood up for me. Thanks, by the way."

Akiza's cheeks flushed again and she fixed her gaze determinedly on her drink, never once drinking it. "Well, he was being rude and I couldn't stand to let him mock my best friend." She looked up at Xerxes once again.

"I could tell." Xerxes took another sip of his drink. The tension between them was still moderately thick. He didn't like it. Xerxes decided he'd have a little fun at her expense. With his elbow on the table, he rested his chin on his hand and put on his best seductive face. "So, you admire my strength of character?"

Akiza blushed all the harder as a smile broke out on her face. She knew he was having a go at her and did her best not to laugh at his attempts to be seductive. "I did say that, didn't I?" She sighed, "Yes, I suppose I do. But don't let it go to your head, alright?" She finally took a swig of her drink.

"Sure. We wouldn't want me to suddenly develop a sense of self-worth, now would we?"

"I meant what I said earlier, Xerxes. I know you can hold your own and I really do believe you will be a good Mand'alor." She gave him a soft reassuring smile. "Now you just need to believe you can."

Xerxes let his crooked smile play across his face. He did nothing to hide the affection he felt for her. "Yeah. I'm just glad to know someone like you believes in me."

"Always."

Xerxes held up his mug. "For Mandalore?" Akiza clinked her mug against his and agreed. "For Mandalore."

1 Lit. Home of Mandalore

2 Basilisk War Droid

3 Butt or more vulgar terms

4 Dark jedi or sith, generally used as an insult


	6. Ch5 I don't think that's how it works

**The Trials of Mand'alor**

 **Chapter 5**

I Don't Think That's How It Works

The following week was an eventful one. Mandalorians from all over the galaxy turned up to witness the Mand'alor Competition. Everyone rooted for members of their own clan, of course. The several different events included; gladiator-style matches, hunts out on the white-sand deserts of Mandalore, and the piloting of various vessels. All these meant to demonstrate their skill, prowess, and strength. Anything to prove that they were the best. Both Xerxes and Galbon had done extremely well to have stayed in the competition this long. However, today was proving to be difficult for Xerxes.

Xerxes was currently in a Swoop Bike race, on a bike he had built himself. Swoop Bike races were different from Pod races in that one raced against the fastest time set on the course rather than against other riders. Xerxes easily bested the tracks official record, but it hadn't been long until someone else beat his time. Not by much, but just enough. According to the rules, Xerxes was allowed three chances to try and beat the new time set against him, otherwise, he would be cut from the competition and so far, no one had been able to beat the new time.

Akiza watched from the sidelines in anticipation as Xerxes veered around the course and sped across the straightaways. He was doing well, but would it be fast enough? His first attempt hadn't been. From what she could see, Xerxes was losing too much time on some of the incredibly tight turns. She had begun pacing, hoping that Xerxes could pull out a win. She was so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she didn't notice the Jedi Master who had walked up next to her.

"Excuse me, Akiza?"

Akiza nearly jumped out of her skin. "Gah! Tai, you startled me!"

"I apologize." he offered, bowing his head to her. "That was not my intent."

"It's alright. You just caught me unaware. Was there something you needed?"

"Yes, there is." Tai turned his head towards the race track and watched as he spoke, "I was hoping you could tell me more about Xerxes. Your relationship with him growing up, his leadership skills, those sorts of things. I'd also like to know about that Swoop Bike of his."

Akiza turned to look at the young Mandalorian in question as he raced. "Well," she began, "Xerxes and I have been best friends since I can remember. He's always been a bit different from others, but I think it's been for his benefit. His father always said he didn't have to be the best as long as he was his best." A small frown formed on her lips. "He was really devastated when Dad came back that night and had to tell him that his father was gone."

Tai looked over at Akiza. She had felt so helpless to cheer Xerxes up during that time. "His father meant everything to him. Xerxes always felt like he never had to be perfect for him, at a time when a lot of people would say he wasn't good enough. After losing that support, Xerxes became distant. Even to me." Akiza felt the tears begin to well up as she recalled how the light had begun to fade in Xerxes' eyes and his cheerful personality became so quiet.

"I'm sorry, Akiza." Tai had looked down as if he were unsure of what to say.

Akiza quickly wiped away the tears. "It's not your fault," she said. "We all know that and no one blames you. Besides, he didn't stay like that."

"What changed?"

Akiza smiled remembering how Xerxes had first started working on his Swoop Bike. "He did." Akiza gazed out at the black and red Swoop Bike Xerxes was riding and told Tai the story behind it. "It was about a month after his father's death when Xerxes found a broken-down Swoop Bike in his father's old shed. It didn't really work and could barely rise off the ground, but something about it made Xerxes want to ride it. That was when he found a joy in mechanics. Xerxes would save whatever money he could to buy parts or he would build the parts himself with whatever pieces he could find. He'd spend hours tinkering with it, just trying to get one system to operate properly, becoming ecstatic when he got positive results. I was so glad he'd found something to do with his hands."

"So that's where that bike went," Tai commented.

Akiza turned her head towards Tai in confusion. "You see," Tai explained, "Abram bought that busted up Swoop Bike from a junk dealer on Tatooine years ago. He was confident that he could not only fix it but make it better than any other out on the market. He never did get the chance to start working on it. I'm glad to see his son took an interest in it. In a way, it's sort of kept a part of Abram alive."

Akiza smiled. "I think that's how Xerxes always looked at it too. Almost everything about that bike has to do with his father. He even named it _Ca'tra a'den_."

"Night sky rage?"

"His exact words were night fury, but yes. He named it after the night his father died."

"Hmm." Tai folded his arms and continued watching Xerxes. "To be able to overcome such emotional adversities is difficult, especially at that young of an age. Xerxes must have a strong heart and a sound mind to have allowed those hardships to build him up the way they did. He is a fine young man and I can't help but feel proud of the way Abram's son has turned out."

Akiza unknowingly sighed in agreement, watching the lean young man ride over the race track in his tight body suit. "He certainly is."

A smile could be seen spreading underneath Tai's rebreather mask. "You know, Akiza. I'm almost certain that Xerxes would like to hear you say how you feel about him."

Akiza's eyes widened in realization of the implications Tai was referring to. She could feel the heat rise in her cheeks and her heart jump in embarrassment. Not that she was embarrassed about Xerxes, but that Tai had so easily figured out how she was feeling. She began to stammer, "I don't… I mean, that is…" Her face growing redder with each passing second.

"Ha ha ha ha ha." Tai's jovial laughter reverberated through his mask. "It's nothing to be ashamed of Akiza. If anything, I'd encourage it."

Akiza's embarrassment was replaced with confusion. "But I thought that the Jedi taught that…"

"Attachments lead to the dark side?" Tai finished. "Yes, we do. It is the Jedi way of life, but it's not a way of life that I'd preach is for everybody. And while it goes against the Jedi Code, it certainly doesn't go against my own moral code." He turned to face Akiza, who stood astonished by the Jedi Master's declaration. "Besides, I'd say that the bond you two share is something that helped to pull Xerxes out of a very dark time in his life. He relies on you more than you give yourself credit for."

Akiza's heart swelled with gratitude at the kindness Tai was showing. She could see why not only her father but also Xerxes and his father had come to like Tai so much. He was nothing like what they had thought the Jedi would be like. She smiled at the Jedi Master. "Thank you, Tai. You're such a good friend and I think you're right. Xerxes should know how I feel, but not right now. The last thing he needs is to get distracted."

She was glad the conversation had ended at that time. Xerxes was riding up to them and came to a stop as he finished his second attempt to beat the current track record.

Xerxes took off his helmet and shook the sweat from his hair. He began smiling when he noticed Tai and Akiza walking over to him. Tai spoke as he admired Xerxes' Swoop Bike. "This is quite an impressive vehicle, Xerxes, and from what I've heard you built it yourself."

"Well, I wouldn't say built, more like heavily modified." Xerxes ran his hand along the dashboard, acknowledging his work. "As far as I can tell though it should be the fastest bike out there. I just hope it was fast enough." Xerxes gaze went up to the time clock as he sat waiting for the results. The time changed to show that he was still short by .40 seconds. "Damn it!" he yelled, pounding his fist in frustration. "I've only got one more chance to beat that time or I can say goodbye to the title of Mand'alor."

Tai held his gaze on the time clock before asking Xerxes, "Where is it you feel you are losing time?"

"At the sharp turns. They're right after the straightaways so I need to slow down to avoid crashing. But because I slow down, I need to get back up to speed which is what is eating up my time."

"What if," Akiza suggested, "you tried drifting through the turns so you wouldn't have to slow down?"

Xerxes looked up at her. "Well, sure, if this were a different kind of vehicle I could. The fact that Swoop Bikes hover though, means that there is no traction available to drift with. I think they were originally designed just for speed." Xerxes glanced at the Jedi Master, hoping that he may have a suggestion.

Tai finally pulled his eyes away for the time clock and steadily held Xerxes gaze before speaking. "These sorts of races are about more than just skill and going really fast, Xerxes. There is also a small level of intuition involved. Some of the best pilots are able to see things before they happen and instinctively know how to react." Tai placed a hand on Xerxes' shoulder. "My advice to you is this. Feel, don't think. Use your instincts."

Xerxes wasn't sure why, but he felt like he could trust Tai's advice. "Alright, let's give it one more shot then." Xerxes grabbed his helmet and shoved it back on his head before moving his Swoop Bike into position at the starting line.

"Good luck, Xerxes!" Akiza cheered. "I believe in you!"

Xerxes revved the engine as he waited for the starting signal. He began repeating in his mind what Tai had said. _Feel, don't think. Feel, don't think._ The signal turned from red to green. Xerxes immediately hit the accelerator.

He sped across the course, keeping a firm hold on the handlebars in each hand. As he banked around curves and dodged obstacles on the course, Xerxes could feel the thrumming of the engine through his thighs. His mind becoming razor focused with the thrill of the race, almost to the point of losing himself in the sensation.

The first sharp right turn was coming up. Xerxes again began repeating Tai's advice. _Feel, don't think. Feel, don't think._ Xerxes took a deep breath and refocused.

He suddenly felt a calming sensation come over him. His mind began racing as he began to recall all the things he knew about what his bike was capable of, all the things hovering vehicles were capable of. The turn was almost upon him. Instead of slowing down Xerxes continued going at full speed.

It was time. At the very last moment, he turned. Kicking his left leg out, Xerxes threw his weight in the opposite direction. He smirked to himself as he felt the Swoop Bike respond in the way that he felt it would. He had cleared the turn handily. Without slowing down, Xerxes continued barreling down the race course, shaving seconds off his time.

"Wait, what did he just do?!" Akiza asked. Xerxes hadn't slowed down at all. She had felt her heart stop, thinking he was going to crash, but at the last second, he had made the turn somehow. Her mind must've been playing tricks on her.

"He's figured it out." Tai mused. Akiza looked at him in bewilderment. "Watch the change in his body's balance as he hits those turns."

She turned her attention back to Xerxes. As he came up to the turns she had to hold back her instinct to scream as Xerxes came incredibly close to seriously injuring himself. He would kick a leg out as he reached the turn and moved his body in the opposite direction. He would do it, again and again, each time a turn came up. Akiza continued looking on in confusion, asking aloud, "But why would he do that? I mean yes, it's working. But why?"

"It's the solution to your drifting theory." Akiza continued to stare at the race track, unsure of what Tai meant. "Think of it this way, Akiza. Knowing that he couldn't get any resistance from the race track in order to drift, Xerxes somehow realized he could create resistance with his own body weight. Similar to the way someone wearing a jetpack would in order to steer."

Akiza clapped her hands together as understanding dawned on her. "Oh, of course. Why didn't I think of that?" There was still one thing, however, that she didn't understand. "But how did you know that Xerxes would figure that out in time?"

Tai smiled to himself as he continued watching Xerxes finish his run. "Just call it a hunch," he assured her.

Strange. Xerxes had said the exact same thing about Tai a few days ago. She decided to chalk it up to coincidence as Xerxes pulled into the pit after he crossed the finish line.

Xerxes immediately took off his helmet, his hands still tingling with adrenaline. With sweat pouring down his face, he looked up waiting for the results of his final attempt. This was it. Would he still be able to continue? His time came up. He had beaten the best time by an entire 5.10 seconds. Xerxes threw his fists into the air in a triumphant cheer, "Yeah!"

Just then, Xerxes nearly lost his balance as Akiza threw her arms around his neck and was squealing in his ear at his success. "Whoa, hey! I'm gonna fall over!" he cried out. Akiza quickly withdrew to give him some space.

"I'm sorry, Xerxes," she said still bursting with excitement. "I just… Eeek! That was amazing. You did it! How did you know that was going to work?"

"I'm not really sure." He admitted "It just sort of came to me, I guess. It felt right."

"Well done, Xerxes." Tai had walked up to Xerxes and clapped a hand on his shoulder, "That was quite an impressive feat. No one is going to be able to beat that time."

And no one did. Having secured the best time and eliminated the other racers, they returned to Clan Beskad's village to discuss the next step in the competition. Xerxes was so happy to still have a shot at becoming Mand'alor. He was sure that he would've lost if not for Tai's insight. L'gann had been especially ecstatic upon finding out Xerxes had won.

He and Galbon had just returned from the hunt out on the white sand deserts, where Galbon had shown exceptional skill with a sniper rifle and emerged victorious. The Fett brothers were still in it to win. After exchanging stories of their wins, Galbon began to relay to Xerxes the information he had gathered about the Sith.

"Hunting on the deserts was a perfect opportunity to ask them if the deserts of Korriban were the same as ours. They're not, by the way, but it looks like only a few of the Sith here have been to Korriban, including Darth Avarus. So, that at least narrows down our list."

"Great work, Galbon," Xerxes whispered so that no one knew what they were up to. "Do you think you can get any more specific details out of the Sith?"

"I think I can get them to talk, with the right drinks," Galbon smirked while waggling his eyebrows.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" L'gann was standing with his hands on his hips and addressing the rest of the competitors that were left. Xerxes scanned the crowd. It looked like there were only a couple dozen left. He didn't recognize any of them. Good. That meant that he wouldn't feel the need to hold back. "So, since there aren't that many of you left, tomorrow we're having an all in." Xerxes looked up as L'gann began explaining what would happen.

"We are going to be splitting you up into teams of two based on your clans, so that's twelve teams each. You'll be going through the wilderness following the path of Mand'alor the First to the skeleton of the first Mythosaur he killed. Along the way, your task will be to eliminate the other teams. If you or your teammate gets knocked out or injured to the point where you can't defend yourselves, you're out, so watch each other's backs. Furthermore, no killing. This is a competition, not a purge. You kill, you're out. Any teams that make it to the Mythosaur skeleton will be continuing to the next round. Other than those rules, anything goes." L'gann finished by clapping his hands together, "Now get some rest. Tomorrow's going to kick you in the _shebs_."

"No killing, huh?" Ru-benn Jinn remarked. "I'd have figured your kind would've taken any chance they could get for a little bloodshed."

"What?" Galbon countered. "Send a bunch of young people into the wilderness, tell all them to kill each other and the last man standing wins?"

Xerxes folded his arms and looked at the Jedi Knight coldly, "We're Mandalorians, not savages."

Ru-benn merely scoffed at the Fett brothers. "Same thing to me." He said beginning to walk away from them. "Guess we'll see if you're the hot stuff that Master Zhan thinks you are."

"Oh, we will!" Galbon yelled back at him. "In fact, come tomorrow night, you're going to be eating your words, cause this thing is going to be easy!"

It was anything but easy. The next day had proven to be crazier than anyone had expected. What should have been a simple trek through the forest with some guerrilla fighting had quickly become chaotic when the local wildlife decided to get involved. As if they didn't have enough to worry about.

In the most recent incident, Xerxes had used up almost all of his shotgun ammo taking down an enraged Nexu cat that another team had unwittingly led their way. Unfortunately, Galbon was the one who had been trampled by the creature in the confusion. He was currently holding his left leg and doing his best not to move it. Xerxes had called for a medic to come and look at his brother's leg. Thankfully, Akiza had volunteered to be Clan Beskad's medic. Xerxes trusted her skills. She, L'gann and Tai had shown up as quickly as possible to assess whether or not the young men could continue.

Akiza placed her hands on Galbon's leg and began examining him. He grit his teeth and hissed in pain as she felt along his calf. "Yep, you've gone and broken it." she sighed. Akiza began setting the bone and wrapping the injury. "You're lucky that Nexu didn't get a chance to sink its claws into you or a broken leg would be the least of your worries."

"Yes, mom," Galbon remarked sarcastically, trying to relive some of the pain.

Akiza smacked the back of his head. "If I were your mother, believe me, I'd be saying much worse."

Galbon looked up at Xerxes and gave him a look that Xerxes interpreted as, " _And this is the girl you want to end up with?"_ Xerxes could only shrug his shoulders.

"That'll have to do for now." Akiza finished wrapping Galbon's leg. "You shouldn't stand on it or you could make it worse."

L'gann sat on his haunches, eyeing Galbon's leg as he asked, "Do you think you can still go on?"

"I can still shoot," Galbon replied. "I can still fight. If I need to, Xerxes can carry me on his back." L'gann, however, was not impressed with this strategy.

"You'll be at a severe disadvantage if you do."

"Then we won't go looking for a fight." Xerxes offered as a counter strategy. "All we need to do is make it to the Myhtosaur skull and we are still able to go on, right?"

"That's what the rules say."

"Then that's what we'll do."

Akiza, L'gann, and Tai began making their way towards the skiff they'd traveled on when Galbon called for the Jedi's attention. "Hey, Tai!" The Jedi master returned to the young men and crouched down, "Is there any chance you could, you know, heal my leg?"

Xerxes cocked an eyebrow at his brother. Where had that idea come from? Tai's voice was calm, but he had a very serious look on his face. "Unfortunately, I cannot. The first reason is that that is not an ability I possess. Secondly, it would go against my promise not to interfere with the competition as an impartial judge." Galbon looked down in defeat. "This is something the two of you will need to deal with yourselves."

Tai stood up and started walking away, but not before giving one last piece of advice, "Remember, feel, don't think. Use your instincts." Tai then jumped on the skiff as it began to lift into the air.

"Keep him off that leg, Xerxes!" Akiza yelled over the whine of the skiff's engine.

"Yes, dear." Xerxes quietly sighed under his breath, not seeing Akiza's face turn bright red as she had heard him over her headset. As the skiff speed away, Xerxes surveyed their surroundings. Realizing they were dangerously exposed, Xerxes hauled his brother onto his back. "We need to find some cover fast," Xerxes said. "Any remaining teams will be heading to the last place the skiff was at, looking for us." They began to make their way towards the Mythosaur skeleton. The pace was slow going since Xerxes was carrying his brother. It wasn't very long before Galbon noticed this and pointed to an old building among the trees.

"We can hold up in that old barn for a bit," he said to Xerxes.

After putting his brother down and setting up a defensible position, Xerxes took stock of their situation. His shotgun didn't have very many rounds left in it. Galbon's leg was broken and he wouldn't be able to move from where he was at if things went bad. It didn't look good. Xerxes felt that this barn was going to be their last stand. Another team could show up any minute and they would be sitting Jawas. Just as he was about to give in to despair, Galbon spoke up. "Hey, bro. Come here I have an idea."

Xerxes walked over to him and knelt down on one knee with his arm resting on his leg. "Alright. What's the plan?"

Doing his best to stay upright, Galbon spoke quietly, perhaps hoping no one would overhear them, "First things first, we need to heal my leg."

"…Right, and how do we do that?"

"We need to follow our instincts like Tai Zhan said. We'll use the Force."

Xerxes brow furrowed in concern. This was the second time Galbon had suggested using the Force, but they couldn't use the Force. "Look, Galbon. I'm all for being optimistic here, but I'm pretty sure that's not how it works."

"But why would he say it like that if we couldn't do it in the first place? Besides my instincts are telling me that this will work."

"Even if we could do that, don't you think using the Force would be cheating?"

Galbon put his arm on Xerxes' shoulder and gave him a very serious look, "It's not cheating if it's our own natural abilities" Xerxes still wasn't sure how he felt about it even though his gut was telling him otherwise. "Look, Xerxes. One of three things are going to happen. Either we try it, it works and we still have a shot at making this a Fett victory. Or we try it, it doesn't work, but we can still say we gave it our all. Or we don't and we always look back saying 'what if'."

Galbon did have a point. They stood to lose nothing at this point and had everything to gain. Plus, Tai's advice had never let Xerxes down so far and Xerxes hated the idea of losing now. Somewhere in the back of Xerxes mind, his instincts were telling him that this was what he should be doing. Xerxes relented. "Alright, fine. Let's give this a try."

The two brothers both put their hands on Galbon's leg before stopping to realize they had no idea what they were doing. "So…how do we do this?" Xerxes asked. "Do we pray or something?"

"I don't think they do that. Maybe we just need to focus our energy on the bone and getting it to heal."

"Okay." Xerxes and Galbon closed their eyes. Focusing all their energy on Galbon's leg, they concentrated. Imagining the bone resetting and mending itself.

Two large and gruff men walked up to the old barn. "I'll bet they'd hold up in here." the taller of the two reasoned.

The shorter man nodded in agreement, "We take these two down and becoming Mand'alor will be smooth sailing from there."

They crept into the barn. It was dark, and it appeared that no one was inside. But they knew better than to trust the dark. The two men continued making their way inside, walking back to back with their weapons in front of them. All was quiet as they scanned their surroundings until they heard a creak from the rafters above. Galbon leapt down onto the back of the shorter man and caught him by surprise. The man crumpled to the ground having the wind knocked out of him.

The taller man whirled around raising his weapon at Galbon. Galbon quickly retaliated with a spinning kick to the tall man's jaw. Galbon then shoved him to the ground and wrestled the weapon away from the would-be attacker. "Let me guess, kid, you faked an injury? To lure us here?"

Galbon paused, taking in the idea before lying. "Uh, yes. All to get you to lower your guard." He then grabbed the tall man by the collar and bashed his head against the man's skull, effectively knocking the man unconscious.

The shorter man had regained his wind and was towering over Galbon. "I'll make you pay for that," he said threateningly. But before he could do anything, a shotgun barrel was pressed against the temple of the man's skull. Glancing to the side, he saw that the weapon was being held by Xerxes Fett.

With a calm and serious voice, Xerxes said. "I don't think so."

For a moment they just stood like that. No one moving. The tension causing the man to shift uneasily. "So, are you gonna shoot me or what?"

Xerxes pondered the man's question. "No."

He then whipped his shotgun around and smacked the guy in the back of the head with the butt of his gun. Xerxes watched as he fell to the ground, as unconscious as his friend. "But I have no problem with knocking you out."

The Fett brothers stood over the fallen victims, admiring their work. Galbon chuckled, "Nice one, bro."

"Thanks. I'm just glad all of that actually worked." Xerxes said looking down at Galbon's leg. He wasn't quite sure why, but somehow, they had managed to heal his leg with the Force. They had both agreed not to mention it to anybody. They weren't quite sure how people would take the revelation of them being Force-sensitive. "Come on, then." Xerxes strode out of the barn holstering his gun over his shoulder. "We've still got a competition to win."

The rest of the trip to the Mythosaur skeleton was surprisingly uneventful. Xerxes and Galbon ran up the hills at a full sprint, never once looking back. No one had tried to stop them. No one was there standing at the large sun-bleached skeleton when they arrived. While he was glad to have made it first, Xerxes couldn't help but wonder where everyone else was.

Before long, L'gann showed up and made his way over to the Fett brothers with his hands in his pockets. "Well, look what we have here. A faked injury, all so you could be the only ones to make it to the Mythosaur." Xerxes started sweating a bit, fearing that they had done something wrong. "It's probably just as well though. You two are the only ones left."

"What?"

Folding his arms L'gann continued, "Yeah. Most of the teams either took each other out or the wildlife got to them. Thankfully no one died, although some of them wish they had after the injuries they got."

Xerxes wasn't quite sure how to take the news. He and Galbon were the only ones left? But then that meant…

"Which means," L'gann smiled broadly as he put an arm around each of their shoulders. "that tomorrow one of you will become the new Mand'alor! You've impressed the clan leaders and our foreign guests quite a bit. So much so, that we've decided to throw a feast together, tonight at the Beskad village and I couldn't be prouder of you two. Now let's get going. I'm starved."

Xerxes and Galbon silently looked at each other and agreed to just roll with the situation at hand. It seemed that fate had smiled upon them that day. The Jedi might say it was the will of the Force. Others would say coincidence. No matter what the reason, they had come out on top. But Xerxes felt deep down that they had started down a path that would twist back on itself before they found their way out and that things were just getting started.


	7. Ch6 The Living Force

**The Trials of Mand'alor**

 **Chapter 6**

The Living Force

The feast that night should have been an occasion of revelry. A time to enjoy the spirit of Mandalore. A time to eat and drink one's cares away. A time to lose one's thoughts in the light of the bonfire. For Xerxes, he had never felt more awkward. While he was glad that he and his brother were the final two in the Mand'alor competition, Xerxes couldn't help feeling that quite a few people were judging him negatively.

Several of the former contestants were displeased with having been beaten by a couple of teenagers. Every now and then Xerxes would look up and see them shooting glares in his direction. Xerxes would then look over to Galbon who was retelling the story of the day's most recent victory to anyone who would listen, leaving out the part where they had healed his leg, of course. Xerxes wished he could feel as calm, but he had become especially wary of the Force users. He felt like, somehow, they knew what he and Galbon had done, that they had probably sensed that something was different.

The opinion Xerxes was most worried about was Akiza's. She had been the one to declare Galbon's leg broken. If anyone were to realize something was wrong it should've been her. So far, however, she had said nothing to anyone. Xerxes could tell that she was upset about something though. She had hardly looked at him and her face looked rather stern as she ate. The glow of the bonfire was highlighting her features and casting shadows across her face causing her to look absolutely terrifying.

Was she mad at him? Did she think that they had cheated somehow? What if she thought that people thought she was somehow involved in it? She had been the one to examine Galbon after all. It would make sense if they did think that way. Xerxes looked up from his thoughts and unintentionally made eye contact with Akiza. He quickly looked back down at his food. She had been watching him. She had probably noticed how stiff and uncomfortable he was feeling. She was smart. She could put two and two together. Xerxes decided he had better make a quick and silent exit before she could corner him.

As Xerxes got up and turned to make his way to his small dwelling, however, he nearly tripped upon realizing that someone was right behind him. It was Akiza. She had apparently divined what he was going to do next. She was gazing up at him with her arms folded across her chest. The expression on her face was hard to read, but she was clearly upset with him. Xerxes grimaced. He had seen firsthand the kind of wrath she was capable of.

"Xerxes, I need to talk to you." She didn't wait for a response. She immediately began walking towards the spot that they always talked at in the forest nearby when someone was upset. Xerxes knew that not following her would only make things worse.

"Okay." he sighed and slowly followed her with his hands in his pockets like a child caught red-handed by their mother.

The spot they had traveled to wasn't too far from their village. The light of the bonfire could still be seen through the trees. It was a clear night and the moon of Concordia was out, illuminating the ground. They were in a small clearing by a large tree. The same tree that he had been lounging in when Galbon had first come to him regarding the Mand'alor competition earlier that week. Akiza was standing next to the tree patiently waiting with her back turned to him. Xerxes swallowed and began rubbing the back of his neck, unsure of what he should say. "So, uh, ahem, you wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes. I do." She turned to face him, her arms still folded, the pale moonlight shimmering on her porcelain skin. If it weren't for the fact that she was probably about to reprimand him, Xerxes would have thought she looked quite beautiful. Except that the moonlight only served to make her look that much more ominous. "Xerxes, I need you to be completely honest with me about what happened out there today."

"Uh, yeah. Of course. What... what did you want to know?"

"I want to know how you did it."

Xerxes decided to feign ignorance, "Did what, exactly?" He immediately regretted his decision.

"Fix Galbon's leg! I set the bone myself, Xerxes. He shouldn't have been able to stand let alone run about the way he has been."

"Oh. Well, uh…"

"Did you have a Kolto _1)_ pack hidden on you?" She had begun walking towards him, placing her hands on her hips. "Did you find some other miraculous way of fixing a completely broken leg without knowing it?"

"See the thing is…"

"At least promise me you didn't get Tai Zhan to help you by using the Force to heal his leg."

Xerxes paused, staring her straight into her eyes, knowing she only wanted to be told the truth. "Okay. I promise you that Tai Zhan did not use the Force to heal Galbon's leg."

"Alright," she accepted, some of the stress leaving her. "Good."

Xerxes took a deep breath and continued to hold her in his gaze, "We did."

Akiza stared at him blankly for what seemed a long amount of time. "We did, what?" she asked.

Xerxes hesitated momentarily before continuing, "Galbon and I used the Force to heal his leg."

The stress Akiza had been feeling before immediately flowed back into her. "Xerxes, I thought I told you to be honest with me."

"But I am being…"

"Do you think I'm stupid?!" she began yelling at him and getting in his space. "That I wouldn't notice that something was wrong?!"

"Now, wait a minute." Xerxes began to raise his voice as well.

"Did you really think I was dumb enough not to notice that you had somehow fooled me into thinking that Galbon had broken his leg?!"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then why are you lying to me?!"

"He isn't lying, Akiza."

Xerxes and Akiza both jumped at the unexpected voice behind them. They whipped around to see Jedi master Tai Zhan walking towards them from the edge of the clearing. "He is telling you the complete and utter truth." he calmly stated.

"But he can't be." Akiza reasoned. "It's impossible."

"Oh, but it is possible." Tai stood before the two Mandalorians. "In fact, it is something I've been suspicious of for quite some time now."

"What do you mean?" Xerxes suspiciously wondered.

Tai brought a hand up to his chin as he began to recount the events of the past week. "When I first arrived on the planet this week I could sense every one of you around our ship, but as I approached one of you, your presence in the Force vanished. As if you had never been there to begin with."

"So that's why you stopped short before finding me." realization began dawning on Xerxes as he remembered that moment.

"That's right. What was more surprising was that you could conceal that Force presence for as long as you did without any Force training whatsoever. I immediately realized that you were possibly Force-sensitive. The events of the competition that you and your brother have participated in have served to confirm my theory. Especially today's miraculous healing. My guess is that the two of you have unknowingly developed these Force abilities over the years as a survival instinct."

"Wait." Xerxes interrupted. "Does that mean that Galbon has the same concealing ability as me?"

"No. His abilities are uniquely different. Galbon's ability is that he can mask his intentions. Make his Force presence appear to be less of a threat than it is. It is an ability that served him well during the hunts out in the desert yesterday. My only question, Xerxes, is why you didn't find it more suspicious when Galbon began suggesting the use of the Force earlier today?"

Xerxes was taken aback at the question. "Well, I did think it sort of came out of nowhere, but why would that be suspicious?"

"He hasn't spent very much time around me or any other Jedi recently." Tai pointed out. "Where do you suppose he could have gotten the idea that he may be Force-sensitive?"

As Xerxes mind began piecing things together, his breath hitched in his throat. "Are you saying that the Sith have been teaching him about the Force?"

"Not directly, no. I theorize that merely being around such strong Force auras and observing their behavior has made Galbon aware of his own powers. I do not feel the taint of the dark side within him as I do in the Sith. But I would urge caution against sending your brother to spy on your father's killers."

Xerxes froze in shock upon hearing Tai reveal what he and Galbon had been doing.

"Yes, Xerxes. I'm well aware of what you two are planning. You can't hide everything from a Jedi, and while I have no right to keep you from doing it, I would exhort you to stop. The path of vengeance is one that can ultimately lead you to the dark side. It is not something to be taken lightly."

Sensing the seriousness in Tai's voice, Xerxes looked down in shame. While he knew seeking to kill someone was generally frowned upon, Xerxes wanted vengeance for his father's death. He had been Tai's best friend too. Didn't Tai want justice for him? Why couldn't Tai see why this was so important?

Before Xerxes could say anything, Akiza spoke up. He had almost forgotten she was there. "Not that I don't trust you, Tai, but I'm going to need some sort of physical proof that Xerxes and Galbon are Force-sensitive."

Tai gazed at Akiza and considered her request. Xerxes was sure that Tai had already given them all the proof he needed to. What more could he possibly show?

"Curious." Tai murmured. "Very well. If the two of you will follow me, please."

Tai walked over to the tree in the clearing and took a crossed-legged seating position. He looked up, waiting for the two teens who hadn't been expecting him to be so willing. "Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked. "We haven't got all night."

Xerxes and Akiza exchanged perplexed glances as they joined the Jedi master. Tai gestured to Xerxes to join him. "If you will take a seat in front of me, Xerxes, we can begin."

Xerxes took his seat in front of the Jedi master and mirrored his position. Akiza was leaning against the tree as she observed the two men. Tai then began expounding upon the Jedi teachings, "What I am going to teach you is a very simple meditation technique used to sense one's surroundings. In order to do this, you must first have a clear understanding of what the Force is."

Xerxes nodded his head in understanding as Tai continued, "The Force is not some all-knowing god, nor is it the result of a god's power. It is an energy field that surrounds us, penetrates us and binds us together. Your father, Abram, once compared it to the Great Manda, which as you know, is the oversoul, a collective consciousness of all Mandalorians who have passed away. The Force is something very similar, possibly even one and the same."

It was good that Tai was using Mandalorian religion to help describe the Force. It made it a much easier idea to grasp for Xerxes. Tai continued his lesson, "The Force is an intertwined web of all living things. That is why it is referred to as The Living Force. It is also why it is so important to understand that all life is connected through the Force. All living things are in tune with the Force, some more than others. This technique I will teach you, will allow you to feel that connection to all the living things around you. From the plants to the animals, from the people to the very planet itself."

The Jedi master then stared directly at Xerxes. "Now then, Xerxes Fett. Are you ready to begin?"

Xerxes nodded firmly without hesitation.

"Very good. Now, I want you to close your eyes and clear your mind of distractions. Focus on my voice."

Xerxes obligingly closed his eyes and began to focus one Tai's voice. "Now, in your mind's eye, picture the embodiment of your soul, your very essence as a ball of energy deep inside you. Picture, it clearly. Can you see it?"

In his mind, Xerxes imagined a glowing green ball of energy sitting in the air in front of him. "Yes."

"Good, now take a small thread of that energy and find the connections to the things around you. To this tree, to the planet beneath you, to me and Akiza."

Xerxes imagined several strands connecting to his ball of energy, all feeding a light into him. He decided to follow one of the strands. He followed it until he found another ball of energy connected to Tai. Xerxes allowed his light to feed into Tai's energy ball. The connection he felt was…. different. Not bad, just different. Something new that Xerxes wasn't used to. Xerxes would've continued making connections, but he stopped when he heard Akiza gasp.

"What is it?" Xerxes questioned as his eyes flew open. Xerxes felt his weight suddenly grab him as he fell to the ground. "Argh!" He hadn't fallen very far, maybe a few inches, but he hadn't been prepared for the sudden fall. Wait, had he been floating? Had he been using the Force? Xerxes looked up at Tai with his mouth gaping in question. Akiza was also staring at him, wide-eyed, with her hands over her mouth.

Tai nodded confidently as he spoke, "And there is your proof. Only someone strong in the Force would be able to do that while meditating. Doubtless, you didn't even realize you were doing it, did you?"

Xerxes was too surprised to speak. All he could do was shake his head. Xerxes began wondering what this meant for him, what would happen next. As if hearing his thoughts, Tai spoke as he helped Xerxes back onto his feet. "I would recommend not focusing on what the future holds as far as your Force abilities are concerned. That will come in time. For now, you should be more focused on becoming the new Mand'alor. I believe this is why the Force has guided me here at this time. You have a great work ahead of you, Xerxes."

Tai then placed a hand on Xerxes' shoulder and leaned in close, speaking in a hushed voice, "I suspect that you and your brother may not be the only Force-sensitive Mandalorians here, but we can worry about that another time."

Tai started walking away from the stunned Mandalorian youths. He called out to them over his shoulder, "It's late and you should get some rest. You will need your strength tomorrow if you are to succeed." With that, Tai Zhan strode off into the night.

How long Xerxes stood there afterward, he didn't know. What had Tai meant by all of that? Why had he shown him the Force? What did he expect Xerxes to do with this knowledge? Xerxes continued to turn things over in his mind, never coming to any clear conclusion.

"Xerxes, are you alright?" Akiza spoke apprehensively. She must have seen the distress on his face. Xerxes slowly turned his head to look at her.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" he asked.

Akiza could only glance down at the ground. Her brow furrowing at the lack of any answer for him.

Xerxes began speaking his mind to no one in particular. "I don't know how I should feel about this. I mean, what am I? Who am I? What does this mean for us as Mandalorians?" Xerxes began running his hands through his hair in exasperation. "Will people even accept me like… this?"

"Xerxes…"

"What if they think I'm some sort of freak? Would they follow me even if I did become Mand'alor?"

"Xerxes."

"What if it's Galbon? Would they follow him? Would he let the Sith influence his every decision?"

"XERXES!" He felt a pair of hands grab him and bring back to himself. Akiza was looking up at him with worry etched on her face. "You're rambling," she explained.

Xerxes took a deep breath and blinked, trying to organize his thoughts. "I… I'm sorry. I just, I don't know what this means. You must think I'm some bizarre creature now." Xerxes looked down dejectedly. How could anyone not think him strange?

Akiza cupped her hands on both sides of his face. "Look at me, Xerxes." He allowed her to turn his face towards her and began gazing into her amber eyes. "You're able to use the Force. So, use it and tell me if I mean it when I say I don't think any of those things about you."

Xerxes didn't need the Force to tell him that Akiza was being honest with him. But he did seem to find a connection to her through the Force that had always been there. Akiza continued to encourage him, "You're not some freak. You're not a mistake. All this means is, there is more to you than you first thought." She smiled softly. "It means that your dad was always right about you. That you were different for a reason. That you were destined for great things."

As she spoke, Xerxes could feel the truth of her words and the affection she had through the Force. The bond they had built over the years had become strong. Xerxes wondered why he never noticed it before. Perhaps the Force was showing him the things that had always been there.

Without realizing it, without even thinking about it, Xerxes leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. It felt better than he always thought it would. He allowed himself to get lost in the sensation of the kiss, lost in the softness of her lips. He wanted to make sure she knew how grateful he was to have her in his life, how much he had come to rely on her. He softly continued kissing her, until he heard her squeak in surprise.

Xerxes pulled away and looked at her. Her eyes were wide with surprise. Her lips had become swollen and her breathing ragged. If he could see her properly in the moonlight, he was certain he would see her blushing furiously. Perhaps he had overstepped his bounds.

Xerxes began apologizing as quickly as he could, "I'm sorry. I didn't think before doing that." He could feel the heat and embarrassment rising in his face. "I was just so caught up in what you were saying, and how much it meant to me and… I didn't mean to. I mean, I meant to, I just didn't mean…"

Akiza placed a hand on his shoulder to get him to stop talking. "It's alright, Xerxes. It's fine," she reassured him, still wide-eyed at his boldness. "You just caught me off guard is all."

"Oh. Okay." Xerxes averted his gaze. Pressing his lips together and rubbing his arm, Xerxes felt the tension settle in the pit of his stomach. She hadn't hit him at least. Xerxes knew that if she wasn't okay with someone getting in her space, she wasn't afraid to let them know. So, what did this mean? He realized that was a question he was asking himself a lot today.

Xerxes slowly raised his gaze to find Akiza looking away with equal determination. He felt that if he spoke he would say something embarrassing, but he spoke anyway. "So that was, uh… felt nice, right?"

"It certainly wasn't… bad." Akiza still looked slightly uncomfortable. She shifted uneasily but didn't release her gaze with him.

"So, should we go anywhere with this thing or…"

"I think," she interrupted. "I think we should follow Tai's advice and focus on your Mand'alor trial. This is something that we should… have time to think about. I certainly don't want to be the reason you lose focus and don't do your best tomorrow."

"Right. Yeah, good thinking." Xerxes agreed, unconsciously placing his hands on his hips.

"But we will talk about it." she quickly added. "Just, after you become Mand'alor, okay?"

"You still think I have a shot at it?"

As she began backing away with a smile in her eyes, she told him, "I've never doubted it." She quickly turned away and began making her way home, "Good night, Xerxes."

"Night." He said softly as a small grin broke out. Xerxes took one last look at the moon, sighed and started walking home to get some sleep. He didn't notice Akiza smile before she left, as she brought her hand up to her mouth, recalling how his lips had felt against hers.

1)Kolto- A liquid known for its healing abilities found on the oceanic planet of Manaan


	8. Ch7 The New Mand'alor

**The Trials of Mand'alor**

 **Chapter 7**

The New Mand'alor

Xerxes was standing on top of a mountain in the middle of the night. He had been following connections in the Force, which had led him here. On the mountaintop, he had found a very large, wispy, trail of energy flowing up into the night sky. He was curious as to where the energy trail went. Without hesitation, Xerxes placed a hand inside of it.

His body was immediately whisked away in the pull of the Force. Xerxes turned his head back and saw Mandalore fading into the black distance of space. As he continued hurtling through space, Xerxes saw other planets and stars whizzing past him. He was caught in the currents of the Force and there was nothing he could do to escape it. The speed was so intense that he felt that he would lose consciousness at any minute.

Just as he was about to black out, a planet came directly at Xerxes. Before he could even react, everything slowed down right as he floated through the atmosphere. Xerxes looked about. The planet he was on was dark. All across the sky, Xerxes could only see lightning storms and curtains of rain as far as the eye could see. He was wondering where he was when he spotted a large city along the horizon. The Force continued pulling him through the air towards the city. In the center of the city was an extremely tall building. It was easily twice the height of Mandal Motors' tower. The building had other tall spires encircling it. The spires were smaller in comparison, but they still ascended to great heights.

The next thing he knew, Xerxes stood on a landing platform on the building. It wasn't at the very top, but still a great way up. Xerxes tried observing his surroundings as the rain continued to soak him. As he did, Xerxes noticed a man standing with his back to him. Xerxes was caught off guard when he realized the man was wearing full body Mandalorian armor. Xerxes walked towards him to find out who he was.

The man was wearing a helmet, so Xerxes wasn't going to be able to see his face. Xerxes searched for a clan insignia or some pattern of color to aid him in piecing together the man's identity. If it hadn't been so dark Xerxes might've been able to find some clue, but to no avail.

The man then turned his body to the side and the face of his helmet towards Xerxes. The man was taller than he and stood in a very powerful stance. His armor glistened in the night as rain continued pouring down on the both of them. Lightning struck nearby and highlighted the sheen of his drenched armor even further. Not being able to see the man's face made him appear very intimidating. Xerxes felt that he was someone very powerful. He felt that this man was someone very important.

The man turned his body a little more and raised an arm. He was pointing at Xerxes. It made Xerxes feel very small. The man's voice could be heard through the rain and thunder as he spoke. With power and authority in his voice, the man declared, "You! You are a part of this pivotal moment."

Xerxes' eyes snapped open as he woke up in his bed back on Mandalore. He drew deep shaky breaths as he sat up in confusion. It had all been a dream, hadn't it? He looked around his treehouse and tried making sense of what he had seen. He had felt it, all of it. He could even distinctly remember the smell of the rain. With sweat covering his body, Xerxes wondered if, perhaps, he had indeed been in the rain. Then there was that man.

Who was he? Why had he spoken to Xerxes in such a manner? Did he know Xerxes? What moment had he been referring to?

Xerxes looked up at the window of his treehouse. He could see daylight slowly making it way over the mountains. Dawn was approaching. Whatever that dream was, Xerxes felt that it was no ordinary dream. It had been too vivid, too real, to just be something his mind had made up. Perhaps it had been something brought on by the Force. But even then, Xerxes still didn't know if it meant anything. Getting up out of bed, Xerxes decided to push the dream aside for the time being and began getting ready for the day. The final matchup to decide the new Mand'alor was going to begin soon.

By the time the sun had reached the pinnacle of its arch in the sky, Xerxes and Galbon were finally headed towards the final event. Everyone else was waiting patiently at the Coliseum, but L'gann had informed them that they needed to make a quick stop at Mand'alor's Mansion first before they could begin. On the skiff ride there, the two young men didn't speak to each other very much. Galbon had spent the night in Keldabe with the Sith, so they hadn't gotten ready together at their home. They had greeted each other upon meeting and that was about it. They were about to fight each other so, Xerxes felt it was probably just pre-battle jitters. At least he hoped that was what it was.

Xerxes looked over at his brother. Galbon had chosen to wear navy-blue armor over his dark grey jumpsuit. Xerxes had chosen to go with forest green for his armor colors. He felt incredibly apprehensive about fighting his brother for the final match. Galbon had always been the one person to push Xerxes to his limits when they would train. He, of course, did the same for Galbon. They'd push and push, making sure the other got better and better each time. Now, the test to see which of them was truly the best had arrived. Xerxes felt that a new divide had formed between them overnight. Galbon looked as if he felt just as distant as Xerxes did. Xerxes remembered what Tai had suggested to him the night before, about the Sith influencing Galbon. If what Tai said was true, then perhaps the Sith were somehow responsible for this new divide.

The skiff slowed to a hover and touched down in front of Mand'alor's Mansion. L'gann leapt off and walked up to the large doors. He began typing in security codes and other protocols to unlock the building. He looked over his shoulder as the two brothers joined him at the door and explained why they were there. "So, the reason we're here is more for ritualistic reasons than anything else. We're here so the two of you can grab one weapon or whatever from Mand'alor's Armory for your duel." The doors opened as the security codes were accepted. "Just one each though. So, choose wisely."

They walked into a wooden atrium with very little adorning the floors or walls. As far as mansions were concerned, Mand'alor's was small compared to mansions on Coruscant or Naboo. It had originally been built as a barracks during the Neo-Crusaders era. The Mandalorians had never been the kind of people to openly display their wealth like the Hutts or politicians, so the structure had been built with function in mind over comfort. There were no paintings, no statues, no rare antiquities. Just trophies, skins, and furs from hunts of the past. Xerxes felt that it looked more like a hunter's lodge than anything else.

L'gann lead them inside towards another door between the two wooden staircases. It most likely led down to the bunker. Xerxes knew that there had been some renovations done to house, such as the large armory that Mand'alor had acquired over the millennia, the most likely place to keep them would be in the underground bunker. L'gann used an old set of keys to unlock the door and they proceeded to descend down the stairs. When they had reached the bottom, Xerxes gasped as he entered a large room. The armory was enormous. Weapons and armor from all generations and several species were out, some on display, others stowed away in crates and chests. Some were so ancient that they appeared that they would crumble into dust at the slightest touch.

Xerxes mind started wandering as he thought of how his father's tomb was somewhere beneath all this history. He quickly shoved those thoughts out of his head, not wanting to get distracted.

"So," Xerxes began, "we just pick any weapon or piece of armor we want and we get to use it?"

"If you're able to carry it and use it, yes," L'gann responded. "Most of the things in here belonged to a previous Mand'alor, so treat them with care. Remember to pick something that'll give you an edge too. Now go."

Xerxes and Galbon exchanged looks. Xerxes wasn't sure if he should try saying something to him. Galbon then shrugged his shoulders and went searching through the armory, leaving Xerxes to feel utterly alone.

Xerxes began heading in a different direction from Galbon. He wasn't quite sure where to begin. There were several large weapons like guns and swords or other projectile weapons. He picked up a very large, archaic machine gun. It appeared to be of Trandoshian origins and was old enough that it still used metal slugs. This thing could tear apart any sort of armor, beskar'gam or not. Xerxes put the weapon back, feeling that it did not fit his style and was a bit too much for this fight. There was also a lot of armor that could come in handy as well, but if Galbon had chosen a weapon and he didn't, he would be in for a tough fight. Best to find a good weapon instead. A large mace? No, Xerxes doubted he could even lift it properly. A jetpack? That wouldn't serve any real fighting purpose without any rockets. A flamethrower? He would need some sort of fuel source first. Xerxes sighed over how much of the armory he wouldn't be able to use. Just as he was browsing through what appeared to be Wookie sized weaponry, Xerxes felt a tug from behind him in the Force.

Xerxes turned around and saw something he wasn't expecting. A pair of worn down, metal, black gauntlets. They didn't appear to be anything special, but the pull he felt from the Force told him otherwise. Xerxes approached them and got a closer look. Upon closer inspection, Xerxes guessed that they were very old. There were no built-in attachments like the ones they made nowadays with flamethrowers, tiny missile launchers, and grappling hooks. In fact, it looked like they had been designed to be worn underneath those types of gauntlets. Xerxes decided to try them on and replace his own gauntlets over top of them. They felt good. They didn't cause any discomfort and weren't restrictive. Xerxes just couldn't figure out what was so special about them. Just as he was wondering this, L'gann came up to him. "What's that you have there, Xerxes?"

"I found these gauntlets," he replied. "They are alright I guess. I just don't see why anyone would think these are special."

L'gann whistled as he eyed Xerxes new gauntlets. "Those are a pretty sweet pick!" Xerxes blinked in confusion. They were? "Those gauntlets you're wearing belonged to Mand'alor the Hunter. Take a look at the underside, notice anything unusual?"

Xerxes lifted his forearm and examined the gauntlet for anything unusual. Upon finding nothing, Xerxes back looked at L'gann and shook his head.

"Well, that's because you're not supposed to," L'gann said as he grabbed Xerxes arm. "The thing that made him such a great hunter was that even though he appeared unarmed, he always had a weapon up his sleeve." L'gann positioned Xerxes hand into a fist and tilted that fist away from Xerxes. As he did a long iron blade sprang out of a hidden compartment at the wrist then snapped to a halt. It was a sharp, skinny blade about a foot in length. Some part of the built-in leather glove must have activated the triggering mechanism. Xerxes looked at the other gauntlet and made the same motion with his left hand. Sure enough, another hidden blade sprang out just as before. He proceeded to get a feel for what these weapons were capable of. A couple of slices and slashes through the air and a pretend stab. Xerxes released his fists and the blades retracted into the gauntlets. This felt more his style. He ran a hand over his new gauntlets and said, "I think these will do nicely."

Xerxes noticed Galbon walking towards them out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw that Galbon was hefting a large shield on his left arm. The shield was a large V-shape with a smaller V adorning the top of it. That part must have been added as some sort of face guard. Xerxes wondered why Galbon would've picked a shield as his weapon.

"Hmm." L'gann mused. "That's an interesting pick, Galbon. That shield belonged to Mand'alor the Tower. It doesn't do anything special or have some kind of secret, but it is the only shield made entirely out of beskar. So, you couldn't ask for a better shield."

Galbon smiled as he stored the shield onto his back. "I can work with that."

"Alright, then. Let's get the two of you to the Coliseum. This is going to be the fight of the century."

They arrived at the Coliseum where everyone was waiting, the Sith from the Empire, the Jedi from the Republic, the clan leaders from all across Mandalore. It was a large oval stadium that normally allowed for 45,000 spectators to be seated comfortably. But so many people had come in attendance to view the final proceedings of the great Mand'alor Competition, additional seating and even temporary sections had to be added on, making the current capacity of the Coliseum almost 95,000. Even then there still wasn't enough room for all the Mandalorians in attendance. Some would have to make do with watching the event from holoscreens in the local cantinas.

The Coliseum was alive with energy. Underneath it, where Xerxes and Galbon were waiting for L'gann to announce them, the energy felt stale and depressing. Xerxes didn't know what he should be feeling. His mind raced with the possible outcomes that he had been thinking of over the week. Everything in his life had somehow led up to this point and it now felt that everything he had ever planned on doing depended on the outcome of this duel. Heck, the whole galaxy was watching, literally.

As Xerxes continued having an existential crisis, his brother turned and raised his voice. "Would you stop freaking out already?! You're having a panic attack big enough for the both of us."

Xerxes looked at Galbon in surprise at his sudden outburst.

"Look, I don't know what you're freaking out about, but I can feel it through the Force and even without training for it, it feels like you're screaming out loud."

"I'm sorry, Galbon. I didn't realize you could feel that."

"Well, stop! Worrying isn't going to change anything." Galbon sighed when he saw Xerxes slump his shoulders. "That might've been harsh, but if all you do is worry about everything that happens to you, you're not going to be a good leader, let alone a stable human being."

Xerxes knew Galbon was right. He tried pushing his worries aside to calm himself, but his nerves still felt like a coil of vipers.

Galbon, still sensing his brother's despair, placed his hands on his hips and looked Xerxes in the eye. "At least promise me this," he asked sternly. "You come at me with everything you've got. You don't hesitate. You don't pull any punches. You don't give me a chance. We want the new Mand'alor to be the best, yes? Well, he is going to have to overcome the best and prove it. Otherwise, we get a second-rate leader and let me tell you, I'm going to throw everything I have at you. So, I expect the same, got it?"

Xerxes' stomach began to settle as he felt the challenge in Galbon's words. He was his rival and as his rival, Galbon wanted to face the best Xerxes had to offer. If Xerxes truly wanted to be Mand'alor he would have to face his inner demons and overcome other external forces as Mand'alor. Xerxes smiled confidently as he grasped Galbon's hand, nodding in agreement.

"I promise."

A shaft of light appeared around them as the ceiling spiraled open. Galbon nodded in return as the circular platform they were standing on started rising. Both he and Galbon flipped their clear plasteel visors over their faces. As the platform reached the ground level of the fighting arena L'gann's voice could be heard over the cheering of the crowd, "And here they are, dueling for the title of Mand'alor, it's the brothers Fett!"

The crowd cheered with excitement. The air was electrified in the shouts of Mandalore. Xerxes could see the Jedi and Sith standing near the clan leaders. Each group appeared very intimidating with their careful, neutral gazes. Off to the right of the Jedi, Xerxes saw his friends from clan Beskad screaming both his and Galbon's names as loudly as possible, cheering for both to do their best.

Xerxes and Galbon took a few steps away from each other and took up their starting positions. The space that was available to fight in was enormous. There was no way they would end up using all of it. Xerxes kicked at the ground beneath him. It was all dirt, very fine, but not loose like sand. It was much like the kind of dirt field that children would play ball games in. Good, that meant Xerxes would have a sure footing.

"Alright, men! You can go whenever you're ready!"

Wanting to catch Galbon off guard, Xerxes made the first move and kicked off against the ground, a small cloud of dust trailing behind him. Running at Galbon, Xerxes unsheathed his hidden blades and swung his arm in a horizontal arch, aiming to slash at Galbon's chest armor. Galbon blocked the attack with ease by raising his shield. Xerxes quickly aimed his other blade at Galbon's right arm and swung with all his might.

Galbon was prepared as he caught Xerxes by the wrist. Catching him by surprise, Galbon then threw his forehead at Xerxes, bashing him in the skull. Xerxes staggered back in pain. Hoping to get some distance as he knew that Galbon was just getting started, Xerxes shook the stars from his vision. Galbon began throwing punches at Xerxes with his right arm. Xerxes would lift his gauntlets up in defense and retaliate by attempting to land a few hits of his own. However, the bulkier of the Fett brothers would simply block all of Xerxes' attacks with the shield on his left arm and then strike again with his right.

Every now and then Galbon would land a heavy body shot on Xerxes, causing him to cry out in pain. This wasn't good. Xerxes was feeling the aches of those punches building. If he didn't figure out a way to get past Galbon's shield, this fight wasn't going to last much longer. Galbon threw a few more punches that Xerxes was able to block, but Galbon suddenly launched his shield arm out and smacked Xerxes in the face with it. While Xerxes was still dazed from the shield bash, Galbon thrust his right leg into Xerxes' chest knocking him to the ground. The crowd cheered and groaned in response to the attack.

While the dust settled, Xerxes laid on the ground trying to catch the wind that had been knocked out of him as Galbon strode towards his copper-haired brother. Raising his left leg up, Galbon aimed his next attack at Xerxes' face. Just as his leg was coming down, Xerxes found his wind, raised his hands and caught Galbon's foot. They wrestled in that position for a bit, Xerxes trying his hardest to keep Galbon from curb stomping him. He finally managed to throw Galbon off balance and off of him. Galbon spun around preparing for another attack when he noticed something in Xerxes' hands. A navy-blue shin guard. Galbon looked down and sure enough, the shin guard on his left leg was missing. Shocked, Galbon looked back up and saw Xerxes holding up the hidden blade in his right gauntlet and smirking. He had used the blade to cut the straps holding the shin guard in place. Xerxes tossed the piece of armor aside and held out both blades in a strong stance. Galbon rolled his shoulders back, a look of determination on his face, as he prepared himself for another strike.

This time, however, Xerxes knew what to do. He began aiming for the straps on Galbon's armor, knowing that Galbon would have to switch to a defensive strategy to protect his exposed body parts. Without realizing it, Xerxes started using the Force to speed up his reaction time as he raised his blades and cleanly cut through strap after strap. An arm guard, a thigh piece, a strap holding the chest armor over the shoulder. Each strap dropped off, leaving Galbon more and more exposed. This new strategy was throwing Galbon off his game. He had been able to continue protecting himself with his shield, but Xerxes attacks weren't allowing him to get back on the offensive. Galbon blocked an attack from the left as Xerxes brought his blade down in an attempt to cut the other shoulder strap. Galbon smirked.

But then Xerxes swung his right leg at Galbon's left shin and a sickening crack reached both their ears. Galbon shrieked in pain and doubled over, clutching his leg. So, they hadn't been able to heal Galbon's leg all the way then. Made sense, they were still new to the whole Force thing. Xerxes retracted his blades and took a breath, thinking he had beat Galbon. He wouldn't be able to fight using a busted leg. The crowd too thought Xerxes had won as the cheers grew louder. But Galbon looked up at Xerxes and shouted, "I'm not done yet, brother!" Galbon placed both of his hands on his leg and began pouring the Force into it. A soft glow was emanating from his leg as he repaired the fractured bone. Xerxes stared in shock as he saw his brother openly displaying his powers in front of everyone in the Coliseum. Galbon stood back up and shook his leg as he retook his battle stance. "I'm not done by a long shot."

Xerxes could only stare, his mouth hanging slightly agape. Was Galbon really that serious about being Mand'alor? _Fine_ , Xerxes thought as he flicked his wrists and unsheathed his blades. _He wants my best, he's got it._ Just as he prepared himself to strike, Galbon ran off in a completely different direction. He reached the wall of the fighting arena and jumped up it like a wild animal. When he vaulted past the lip of the wall where the audience was seated, Galbon reached out a hand towards the Sith in front of him. Xerxes was perplexed by Galbon's actions until he saw the hilt of one of the Sith's lightsaber fly into Galbon's grasp. He spun around to face Xerxes as he fell back to the ground, his face twisting in pain as he landed. His leg must have still been slightly damaged. Galbon pushed through it as he ignited the crimson blade, the pain, and anger clearly written on his face.

"I told you I was going to throw everything I had at you, Xerxes!" Galbon shouted over the crowd who had begun an uproar over Galbon's actions. "You'd better be ready, cause here I come!"

Galbon was barreling down on Xerxes as he swung the lightsaber with all his might. Xerxes barley dodged the blade. This was getting out of hand. Was Galbon really willing to kill him over this? They weren't wearing besgam armor, so any hit from a lightsaber would cut right through. It would probably be fatal. While he was caught off guard, Galbon kicked him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground once again. Galbon raised the lightsaber into the air for a final strike, but not before Xerxes was able to roll back and handspring away from Galbon as the crimson blade came slashing down. As he hung there in the air for that brief moment, Xerxes did the only thing he could think to do to protect himself. Closing his eyes, Xerxes reached out with the Force to the galaxy around him. The Galaxy responded.

When he landed with one hand on the ground, swinging his other hand back as a counterbalance. Xerxes could feel the cold steel of metal in his hand and heard the familiar _snap-hiss_ of the energy weapon he held behind him. As he opened his eyes, the faint green glow of a lightsaber cast shadows at his feet. The silence of the crowd was deafening as Xerxes gazed up into the eyes of his brother. Nothing else in the galaxy mattered at that moment except for him and Galbon. Staring each other down, sheer determination filling their souls, two brothers, locked in conflict. Each one trying to surpass the other.

Galbon's face contorted in rage as he yelled a battle cry. He began running at Xerxes. Xerxes immediately dashed forward from his kneeling stance, the green lightsaber following behind. As the Fett brothers closed in, they raised their lightsabers at each other. When the blades clashed, the crackling-hiss of lightsabers striking each other could be heard echoing throughout the Coliseum.

Xerxes took a quick look at the lightsaber he was holding. It wasn't like a normal lightsaber. The blade was wider at the bottom and went up into a point at the top. It was shaped more like a broadsword rather than a fencing blade. Good. The wider blade meant he would be able to block attacks more deftly. The brothers pushed off against each other's blades. They swung and hacked at one another with no form or grace. Neither one of them had held a lightsaber before. It was easy to forget where the actual blade was in space since the blades themselves carried no weight. If Xerxes wasn't careful, he was liable to cut off his own limbs and Galbon wouldn't have to worry. The other problem was Galbon's shield. Always the shield. Since it was made of beskar it was lightsaber proof. Galbon could defend with one hand and attack with the other. Bringing lightsabers into the fight hadn't changed much. It only made this a life or death situation. Xerxes still needed to find a way past that shield.

Xerxes dodged and parried as quickly as he could, careful not to let the crimson blade get close to him. Xerxes could feel he and his brother both use the Force to heighten their senses and quicken their movements. They clashed and grit their teeth attempting to overpower the other. "You're getting pretty good at this, bro." Galbon taunted. "You would think that someone taught you."

Xerxes knew what he was insinuating and he didn't like it. "That's funny, Galbon," Xerxes replied. "I was just about to say the same thing about you."

Knowing he needed to end this quickly, Xerxes seized his opportunity. Xerxes spun their still clashing blades in a clockwise motion and in a surprise maneuver, he not only managed to get the lightsaber out of Galbon's grip, but he threw his own blade off to the left along with Galbon's weapon. Galbon had always been slow to respond to surprise strategies. Taking the opportunity, Xerxes grabbed Galbon's shield and pushed it aside, completely exposing his brother. As Galbon's eyes shifted towards him in surprise, Xerxes clenched his left fist. He swung his fist in a powerful uppercut right into Galbon's jaw. The force of the punch caused Galbon to spin around, landing him face first into the dirt, a cloud of dust rising up as he fell.

Not wasting any time Xerxes flicked his wrist, unsheathing the blade on his right arm and leapt onto his brother's back. He held the blade against Galbon's head, showing that he held power over him. "Stay down, Galbon. It's over."

He heard Galbon breath heavily. Once. Twice. Then Galbon lowered his head to the ground submissively, a clear sign of surrender.

The Coliseum erupted with shouts and cheers. Xerxes had almost forgotten where he was. He got up off of Galbon and absorbed the scene. Akiza and Vlad could be seen jumping up and down excitedly at his victory. Former competitors either clapped in appreciation or nodded approvingly. Others, however, appeared very displeased. Xerxes could see the clan leaders, L'gann, the Jedi and the Sith all arguing vehemently with each other. Xerxes was certain it had to do with their display of Force power and whether or not it was acceptable or if the Force users had interfered in some way.

Xerxes looked behind him and used the Force to call the lightsaber he had fought with back into his grasp. Galbon saw this while getting up and did the same. The two of them looked at each other. Whatever warmth had been in Galbon's eyes earlier was gone now. The distance Xerxes felt earlier seeming that much wider than before. They both stared the other down, trying to figure out how the other had become so proficient in the Force, even if they were just novices.

The clan leaders turned toward the Fett brothers and called for the audience's attention. The eldest clan leader spoke loudly.

"After much consideration, and finding that the brothers Fett were able to do what they did of their own power and had no outside influence from the Jedi or Sith, we have found the winner of the Mand'alor competition to be clear."

Xerxes held his breath.

"The winner and your new Mand'alor is…." he paused, raising his arms up in dramatic effect, "Xerxes Fett!"

The Coliseum again burst into cheers and praises. The chant of, "Mand'alor, Mand'alor, Mand'alor," could be heard all around him. Xerxes felt a flood of relief and euphoria wash over him as he realized they were calling for him. He was now Mand'alor, probably the youngest in history. The clan leaders, L'gann and Tai Zhan could be seen heading towards him while the Sith stalked over to Galbon, clearly displeased and wanting the lightsaber back. While Xerxes couldn't hear what Darth Avarus was saying, he was clearly reprimanding Galbon. Xerxes turned away and smiled in anticipation of his friends' congratulations. The crowd around him suddenly went silent as he heard the _snap-hiss_ of a lightsaber entering someone's body.

Xerxes spun around, and his gaze fell on Galbon who had thrust the lightsaber he had stolen into Darth Avarus' chest. The look on Avarus' face was one of shock and disbelief as his own lightsaber penetrated him. Xerxes could just barely hear Galbon as he spoke to Avarus. With all the hate he could muster, Galbon said, "Well then. It's a good thing I'm not your apprentice. Isn't it?"

Galbon swung the blade the rest of the way through the Sith Pureblood's chest. Darth Avarus fell to the ground. Dead. From that day forward, Xerxes would always remember the feeling he sensed that was in Galbon's heart. The power he felt roiling off of his brother. The intense presence he would recall whenever a Sith was nearby. He would remember, darkness.


	9. Sith Elite II: Interlude

**The Trials of Mandalore**

 **The Sith Elite**

 **Twenty-Five Years Later…**

Darth Omega had felt the disturbance in the Force before the Citadel alarms began blaring. He had been feeling ripples in the Force for a few days now. While he wasn't sure what it was, he could feel a powerful darkness approaching. Rather than warn the Dark Council or any one of his underlings, Darth Omega had decided to allow whatever was coming to come and then make a further decision from there. So, when the alert sounded and people began screaming in the streets, it came as no surprise to the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Darth Omega had decided to watch the proceeding mayhem from the comfort of his throne. The Dark Council had chosen to lock themselves in the council chamber with nearly all of the royal guard sent to defend the Citadel gates. The cowards. Not one had the fortitude to stand against this unknown threat. It made Darth Omega roll his eyes in annoyance. He had thought that the twelve so-called 'strongest Sith in the Empire' would have grown some spine by now. Instead, they spent their days bickering amongst themselves, infighting and clamoring for power that they did not deserve. Why were the Sith who served him still so weak-willed after all his years as Emperor?

He sighed to himself as he viewed the entrance to the Citadel on his holo-monitors, his face propped against one of his fists in boredom. And then it happened. The disturbance he had been feeling in the Force finally arrived at his front doors. Bodies of the Citadel Guard went flying across the screen while others began shooting at the threat that was offscreen. Several blaster bolts ricocheted back at them in a brilliant whirling red mass. While the guards all lay with scorching blaster marks in their armor or helmets, a tall figure strode into view of the security cameras. The imposing figure was unlike any that Darth Omega had seen before. It was very tall, had four arms and wore the skeletal remains of what appeared to be several creatures over its body as armor. Two skulls for shoulder armor, ribs over the chest, and a skull over the head along with other random bones intricately laced together, all complemented with a long, frayed leather skin for a cape, flapping in the rainy winds of Drommund Kaas. Darth Omega leaned forward in his throne as he noticed the unmistakable glow of four red lightsabers, one in each hand. Whatever this creature was, it appeared to be trained in the dark side of the Force, though clearly, it was not Sith.

 _Intriguing_ , Darth Omega thought to himself. He continued watching his unexpected guest with growing curiosity as the creature made its way through the Citadel. Guard after guard, who arrived to stop the hulking creature, was torn apart in seconds, sometimes to shreds at the crimson blades of the beast. It was also not afraid to rage with Force powers when confronted by heavy weapon squads. Rockets and grenades were thrown back at the flick of a wrist and shrapnel simply bounced off its skeletal armor. Darth Omega was most impressed when the creature walked through a blazing wall of fire set up by some flame-troopers. The sight of the being, walking through the fire unscathed with flames dancing across his armor, was one he would never forget. Nor would he forget the fear it elicited from the soldiers. This was a being afraid of nothing who instilled fear in all who approached him. Darth Omega began smiling as the creature of fear calmly patted out the flames on its body and finally reached the entrance to the Throne Room.

It brought him back to when he had approached this very room to seize power over the Emperor of the time, Darth Pondus. Good times. He pondered how his guest would get past the door's security measures. Would they do the same things he had all those years ago? The creature clipped its lightsaber to its belt and held out its hands. All four hands grabbed the doors, forcing their way into the crease between the doors. The four arms of the being began pulling and straining at the massive doors, Darth Omega could feel them using the Force to enhance their strength. In a matter of seconds, the large doors were simply ripped off their hinges causing a screaming, screeching of metal in protest. With the doors thrown behind him, the tall creature strode into the Throne room, gazing up at the Emperor with his black eyes and their white pupils. Darth Omega noted the ceremonial red marks on the skull the creature was wearing over his head. So, the wearing of skeletons was a ritualistic choice. Darth Omega could feel how strong in the Force the stranger was and began smiling as he spoke to his guest.

"Ah, welcome to the Heart of the Sith Empire," he said. "I trust your journey here was not an arduous one?"

The creature did not respond to his question. He instead spoke like a man on a mission, his ethereal voice reverberating all around them as he spoke, "You are the self-proclaimed Darth Omega, Lord of the Sith? Bringer of the end of the galaxy?"

"Indeed I am." Darth Omega stood up and brushed some pretend dust off the front of his cloak. "Though, I'm afraid you have me at a slight disadvantage. Who might you be, if I may ask?"

"I come from Hell itself. I am the Herald of my master, the true Lord of Darkness, the true bringer of this galaxy's end and you are sitting on his throne!"

The Emperor lifted his chin at this accusation. Someone more powerful than he? They would have to take that power from him as he had with Pondus. Calmly placing his hands behind his back, the Emperor inquired of his guest, "I see. And does this master of yours have a name?"

The Herald reached for the lightsabers on his belt and ignited all four blades. Holding the Emperor's gaze, he stated, "Death."

With an incredibly powerful Force-speed, the Herald rushed Darth Omega, his boney armor clacking against the marble flooring and the stairs up to the throne. Darth Omega stood his ground as his assailant barreled down upon him. As he leaped into the air for a swift finishing blow, the Emperor casually whipped out his Black-Lightsaber and blocked the incoming blades. The Herald seemed to be expecting this as he had only attacked with two of his lightsabers. The other two were coming at Darth Omega in a pincer-like motion. He shifted into his shadow form and simply passed through his attacker. "So, it's true." the Herald said as his eyes followed the Emperor's shadowy fog. "You assume the form of darkness itself and wield it like a blade. You will pay for your mockery of my master."

Darth Omega had had enough of this interloper's accusations of things he did not understand. The Emperor had earned his place of power and his lightsaber reflected it. It was time to end this. "It's true you are powerful. There may even come a day when you will be able to kill me and take my power, but it is not this day." From the shadows, Darth Omega began focusing his mind on his assailant. He started using his Force Dominate ability on the Herald's mind, applying just the right amount of pressure on his weak points.

At first, the Herald simply blinked away the pressure, but as it grew more intense his breathing became ragged. "Grr. Get out of my head!" he yelled. But the pressure kept coming. Eventually, he dropped his lightsabers and clutched his head as the Emperor continued prodding at the demons of his mind. The Herald had begun screaming from the pain. His cries for mercy echoing throughout the throne room. The Emperor would break him. "Kneel before me." Darth Omega said as he was solidifying his form in front of the Herald, holding his victim's mind in his hands. The Herald continued resisting if only barely.

Applying more pressure, the Emperor yelled over the Heralds cries, "You. Will. KNEEL!" The Herald's knees buckled under the pressure. He continued clutching his head as his second set of arms supported him as he crumpled to the floor. "Who is your Master?!"

The Herald finally gave in. "You are! You are the true Lord of Darkness and my Master! I swear my allegiance to you and you alone!"

Darth Omega felt the truth in the Herald's words. Whoever he had once served, he was now the Emperor's servant. He smiled and released the Herald from his torment. "Good. Now rise."

The Herald got to his feet, his breathing still heavy from the torture. He spoke in a now subdued voice, "What is thy bidding, my Master?"

"You are indeed powerful. More powerful than any I have ever met. Therefore, you shall become my second in command of the entire Sith Empire. You will be my voice, my hands, and most importantly my sword. And since you specialize in the fear of others, you shall be dubbed as Darth Verror."

Darth Verror bowed humbly to his new Master, "I shall serve faithfully, my Lord."

"Good. Because we have work to attend to immediately." The Emperor gestured for him to follow as he walked out of the throne room. "You see, your presence here has made me realize something, Darth Verror." As they walked the halls of the Citadel, the Emperor took delight in the carnage his new number two had caused. "What did you make of those who were sent to stop your approach, Verror?"

The bone clad warrior regarded the bodies he had left behind in his wake. "They were weak. Not even all together could they have defeated me."

"Too true." Darth Omega agreed. "They were sent by the Dark Council. The twelve strongest Sith in the Empire, sending men weaker than themselves to defend them. Not one stepped out to face you. Cowards."

"Shameful."

Darth Omega's smile continued widening at his new servant's observations. "Exactly! And it is these things that have made me realize that the Empire has stayed lazy despite my best efforts. We were meant to have the strongest survive and the weak be weeded out. This hasn't been happening as the Dark Council fight like children over daddy's affection. I believe it is time for a changing of the guard, as it were. Ah, here we are."

The Emperor stopped in front of a set of durasteel doors that led to the Dark Council's chamber. He punched in the manual security override codes and strode in. The members of the Dark Council immediately looked up at the Emperor. Some were confused, others relieved at his presence. The Dark Council consisted of mostly men, some women, all varying in age, most had become out of shape in the luxurious lifestyle they had chosen. Those who smiled at the Emperor must have thought it meant that the assailant had been dealt with. They were wrong. As Darth Verror's seven-foot-tall presence entered the room, the council all gasped in dismay.

"My Lord, behind you!"

"What is that thing?"

"By the Force!"

"What is the meaning of this?!"

Darth Omega raised his hands in a calming manner. "Gentlemen, ladies, please. Calm yourselves. You have nothing to fear." The Dark Council's gaze, however, stayed transfixed on the bone covered monster before them. "As you can see the creature is now under my control. May I introduce to you, my second in command, Darth Verror."

"Second in command? But we-"

"My Lord?"

"You cannot make such a decision without the Council's approval."

The Emperor sighed grimly at the now flustered Dark Council as they realized this would strip them of rank and power. "Oh, believe me, I can. I didn't want it to have to come to this, but you've left me no choice." He began pacing around the chamber. "You are supposed to be the best of the best. The strongest of the strong. Yet not one of you had the courage or fortitude to step up and face Darth Verror head on. Instead, you send men weaker than you, hoping that somehow, they will defend you. By the way, they're all dead." The Dark Council members shifted uncomfortably in their seats as the Emperor continued his speech. "Thus, confirming what I have been speculating for some time now, that we need to… trim away at the fat. Get some new blood in our ranks."

One of the more astute Sith Purebloods asked his master in a concerned tone, "What, exactly, are you proposing, Darth Omega?"

"I have decided that the Dark Council must be reorganized into what will now be known as The Sith Elite. An organization of seven beings, myself and Darth Verror included, who will be the most powerful Sith in the Empire, no jobs or leadership roles will be divvied up by spheres of influence and the only way to take the place of one of these members will be to kill one yourself. Thus, ensuring that the pool of power never stagnates and that only the strongest rule."

This time an older woman raised her opinion. Hoping to assuage her master, she calmly pointed out, "But my Lord. If all you need are five others to rule beneath you, then that means that seven of us here will be losing our power. Now that hardly seems fair." The other council members murmured in agreement.

Darth Omega brought his hand up to his chin and began speaking with mock concern. "That's right. Oh, dear. How shall we solve this conundrum? We want to be fair after all." He walked towards the chamber entrance in pretend thought, having already decided on his way here. "Oh, I know. Darth Verror?"

"Yes, my Master?"

The Emperor glanced over his shoulder at the Dark Council, a glimmer of evil in his eyes. "Weed out the weak. The last five still breathing win."

Darth Verror ignited his lightsabers. "With pleasure."

Darth Omega stood off to the side and grinned at the ensuing chaos, the screams of the weak as music to his ears. Finally, the Empire would begin to suit his vision.


	10. Ch8 A Jedi's request

**The Trials of Mand'alor**

 **Chapter 8**

 **A Jedi's Request**

Xerxes stood wide-eyed in disbelief. Galbon had just killed Darth Avarus in front of everyone, Xerxes, the Jedi, all of Mandalore. The Sith Lord lay on the ground dead, his eyes still wide in shock, like everyone else's. Xerxes looked up at the remaining Sith Lords. They all stood stock still. Some in shock. Some with blank expressions. Some were staring at Darth Verror in nervous apprehension. Xerxes turned his attention to the ironclad Sith. He was standing with his two sets of arms folded, glaring down at Galbon. Xerxes could now feel the waves of hate and anger rolling off Darth Verror in a torrent of rage. Xerxes' mind finally caught up to him as he remembered the warning Tai had given L'gann just a few days before about not acting against the Sith as long as they were guests. That such an act could be considered a declaration of war. At that same moment, Galbon seemed to realize the implications of his actions as he slowly turned to Darth Verror. The Sith Lord's presence ever growing in the Force, causing Galbon to shrink before the dark lord. Then Darth Verror began briskly walking towards Galbon.

"Wait!" Galbon cried. "I can explain!"

Darth Verror Force pulled the lightsaber from Galbon's grasp, never once breaking his stride. He grabbed Galbon by the shoulders turned him around and forced him to the ground in front of Xerxes.

"Darth Avarus was there!" Galbon yelled. "He was part of the people who killed my father, Mand'alor the Father! He said so himself! He laughed about it. All I did was do what justice demands, I…"

Darth Verror lifted one of his free hands and dominated Galbon into silence with the Force. Galbon's eyes were wide with terror as he held his head. "Do you really think I care why you murdered him? The fact of the matter is that you did. And since we were here on a diplomatic mission this is considered an act of war! One that must be dealt with accordingly." Verror activated the lightsaber in his hand.

"NO!" Xerxes yelled and ran to his brother.

"Unless your brother, Mand'alore, has something to say about all of this. After all, it is a crime committed on his planet, under his brand-new watch, by his own little brother." Darth Verror fixed his gaze on Xerxes. "What say you Mand'alor? What should the punishment be for your brother's crime? I suggest execution."

Galbon snapped his attention to Xerxes, his eyes imploring mercy. "Xerxes, please. It had to be done. He was involved in killing our Father! Please, you have to see that!"

"In order to avoid war with the Empire, consequences must be affixed to his actions. Were he a student of the Sith, he would be severely punished and would know his place in the Empire. I will not have my Master be mocked in such a manner. Either you have him killed, Mand'alor, or I will."

"Xerxes, we can take them. Together. You and me. Like always.

Xerxes stood for what felt like an eternity. The Empire was strong. Even if he could keep Darth Verror from killing Galbon right here, the Empire would strike back with unbridled devastation. But Galbon was the only family Xerxes had left. He couldn't abandon him. He couldn't kill him. He couldn't let him die. Xerxes didn't know what to do. Darth Verror held all the cards. One false move and Galbon was gone. All eyes were on them. The entire Coliseum, no, the entire planet held its breath, waiting for Xerxes to make a decision. His word was now law and in his hands, was Galbon's life. Then a thought entered his mind. What if Galbon was a citizen of the Empire like Verror suggested? Would the punishment be the same or would they do something different? It was a long shot, but it might be Galbon's only chance.

Xerxes cleared his throat, "If… if Galbon were a student of the Empire as you said, what would the Empire do in response to these actions?"

Darth Verror tilted his head ever so slightly. Xerxes felt like he had been caught in a trap and that Darth Verror was smiling, though he couldn't see his mouth beneath the cloth he wore. "Interesting." Darth Verror deactivated the lightsaber and gave Xerxes his full attention. "What a very interesting question. Well, if he were my student, he would, of course, receive severe consequences. He would be retaught the order of the Sith, to control his emotions rather than let them control him. Other students would be his tormentors, dealing death as they see fit. His strength and power being his only means of survival. He could survive, but only if he is powerful enough. Most importantly, if he did, he'd know to never repeat those actions again."

Xerxes deliberated in his mind. This was his opportunity. It would mean having to force Galbon off-world, but he'd still be alive and given a fighting chance. Galbon was anything if not a survivor. Eventually, Xerxes' fear of losing his brother overpowered him. "Then as Mand'alor, I order Galbon to serve his punishment under the laws of the Sith Academy."

"WHAT?!"

Xerxes couldn't bear to look his brother in the eyes. Why did this have to be his first act as Mand'alor? "You are hereby banished from the planet of Mandalore in response to the murder of Darth Avarus." He looked up at Darth Verror, "Is that acceptable, to you?"

Xerxes still felt like the Sith was smirking at him as he spoke, "It will be enough. Take heart young Mand'alor, you have just spared your people from a devastating war. You will make a fine leader. But consider any chance for an alliance with us off the table, we will not be returning." Verror gestured for the Sith and Galbon to follow him, "We're leaving. Keep him in the brig until we reach Dromund Kaas."

Galbon ran up to Xerxes and grabbed him, fear still evident in his eyes. "Xerxes, please! Don't do this. We can take them together. _Vode_ _an jurir_ _._ **1** Like always. Please."

Xerxes grabbed Galbon's elbows as he implored of his brother, "I'm sorry, brother, but please do this for me, Galbon. I don't want to see you die. I can't go through losing family again. This way you'll still be alive. Kriffing heck, you just killed a Sith Lord, some lousy students will be no problem after that."

Galbon suddenly frowned, "Alright, I see how it is." Xerxes' brow furrowed in confusion as Galbon removed the shield from his arm and threw it at his feet. "You don't have the guts to stand against the Sith, but when it comes to kicking your own brother off world you've got absolutely no problem."

"Galbon, that's not what's…"

"NO! No, I don't even wanna hear it! Cause now it's too late. They have power over me now, all thanks to our great new Mand'alor. Some leader you're gonna be. But you know what, I'll go. I'll go with them if only to find our father's killers and make them pay for what they've done. I'll kill them all. Besides, I always said I'd side with the Empire anyway. I'll set up shop there and show them what true _Mando'ade_ **2** can do. Real men, like me. They'll know not to mess with us."

The expression on Xerxes' face was one of utter bewilderment and shame. He didn't want to see his brother go, but he knew it had to be done. But with all the things that Galbon was saying to him, he felt that maybe he had made the wrong choice. Especially since it seemed to have just alienated his brother from him. Galbon continued before Xerxes could respond, "I'll be back for that shield once I make a name for myself in the Empire. You'll see. The name of Fett will be big among the Sith." Galbon turned around and stormed away as he sarcastically added, "You just focus on being Mand'alor, alright? _K'oyaci_ **3** , vod."

As Galbon stomped away, Xerxes lifted his shield from the ground and quietly replied, "K'oyaci, vod."

The entire Coliseum watched in hushed silence, but for Xerxes, it felt like he was the only one there as he watched his brother leave. Standing with the shield in his arms, Xerxes couldn't help but feel that this was going to be the last time he'd see his brother.

Later that day, Xerxes was standing in one of the many workshops of Mandal Motors, being outfitted with the newest and best Mandalorian armor available. Xerxes had left the shield Galbon had used on one of the workbenches. The man setting him up was the owner of Mandal Motors, Taggart Ghes. He was an older man well into his late fifties, but still very fit. The only thing giving away his age was his balding head. He would talk about this and that while he was working, mostly about him and his now deceased wife of over a decade, his thick accent **4** coming through. Xerxes didn't pay much attention to what the man said, he was too busy recounting the events of the day. Wishing things had gone differently. Missing his brother. Hoping that he was still alive.

"Xerxes!"

He snapped back to reality as Akiza called out his name. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Taggart asked you a question."

"Sorry, it's been a long day." He turned his attention to the old man, "What is it you were asking me?"

Taggart smiled a toothy grin as he restated his question. "Just wantin to know which colours you'd like for yer armour, Mand'alor."

"Oh, umm…" Xerxes hadn't really thought about it much. Mandalorian armor colors always had a meaning attached to them. It made it easy to understand the things that motivated a person. The colors he picked would define him to other Mandalorians. Right now, there were only a few things that mattered to him. Galbon, his Father and being a good leader. "Let's go with my normal green and throw some gold in there as well. Oh, and make the gauntlets black."

"Ah. Duty, vengeance, an justice. I like it. Not a combination ya see very often these days." Taggart quickly wrote down some notes as he continued speaking, "Alright, I'm gonna go and grab a jetpack that should fit yer new armour. Be back in a parsec."

Once Taggart had left the room, Xerxes and Akiza were left alone in the workshop. Xerxes couldn't bring himself to look at her. While he had won and become Mand'alor, he certainly didn't feel like a winner in that moment. He'd lost his brother to the Sith. Nothing could make up for that. What was worse, was that now Galbon resented him for it. Xerxes wanted to talk, but he didn't know what to say. Instead, he just stood there awkwardly, not wanting to make eye contact. His fists kept curling and uncurling as he sighed deeply, keeping everything he felt inside to himself, not allowing the pain he felt to show through. While Xerxes was doing this, Akiza had come up to him and gently cupped her hands around his face, forcing him to look at her. The expression on her face was one of worry and concern. Her amber eyes were moving back and forth between his as if she were looking for something. She must have known he was feeling down, she knew him well enough to be able to interpret his body language. Xerxes honestly wasn't surprised by this, but he didn't want to cause her anymore worry, so, he cast his gaze elsewhere. That response seemed to only give her more concern.

The next thing Xerxes knew, the only thing he could see was Akiza's face very close to his, and he could feel the now familiar sensation of her lips against his. Xerxes stared in surprise at her actions. The kiss didn't feel passionate, it was more comforting than anything else. Her eyes were closed, and Xerxes felt that she was putting her all into it. Before he could even process what was going on, Akiza pulled back and looked at Xerxes with upturned eyes, holding his face in her hands. She still looked very concerned and Xerxes just stood there staring in bafflement. Xerxes' tongue unconsciously darted out to moisten his mouth, not realizing how dry his lips had been a moment before. "What- what was that for?" he asked.

A small smile graced her lips as she answered, "You looked like you needed it." Akiza continued holding his gaze while Xerxes' was still trying to decide how to respond. "I'm so sorry about what happened today, Xerxes. It was completely unfair what those Sith did to you and you shouldn't have had to do that to Galbon. I mean, I'm just as shocked as you are that Galbon killed Darth Avarus in the first place, but how they reacted to it just doesn't feel right to me. I can't even imagine how you must be feeling about it all. I'm so sorry you've had to go through this. I just…"

Xerxes had placed a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze, causing her to pause and look directly at him. Akiza's eyes widened in surprise and anticipation, waiting for Xerxes to say something. His mind had finally decided how he was going to respond. Using his finger, he drew her back in for another kiss while his other arm snaked around her waist. He closed his eyes, focusing only on the softness of her lips. Unlike the first kiss the night before, Akiza didn't squeak in surprise or pull away. Quite the opposite. It took a moment, but she eventually released his face and wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss further. Xerxes had always been grateful to have Akiza in his life, but in this moment, after everything that had happened to him in the past week, he felt that she was all he had left and that he never wanted to let her go. Wanting her to understand how he felt, Xerxes dared to allow more passion into his kiss and pulled her body flush against his. She responded with a hum of pleasure that vibrated through his lips, causing something instinctual to rise inside him. Xerxes felt a sudden desire for more. For more passion. For more of her and nothing was going to stop him.

"Ahem."

The couple abruptly ended the kiss and turned in surprise to see Tai Zhan and Taggart both standing just in the doorway observing the scene before them. Xerxes' face immediately flushed red and he felt his temperature rise, but he kept his hand at the small of Akiza's back, still not wanting to let her go. Xerxes stole a quick glance at her and found that her face was equally as red as his. She did, however, seem to be attempting to hide a smile behind her hand. Xerxes decided to take that as a good sign.

The Jedi Master was the first to speak, "I do apologize for interrupting."

"Aw. Young love," Taggart said with a big smirk on his face. "Reminds me of how me wife and I were when we were first courtin'. Ha-ha, she couldn't stand me. But I wore her down in the end. Persistence and all that. Us Mando men tend to make snap decisions like that when it comes to who we want to end up with." Taggart pulled himself out of reminiscing upon realizing that he was rambling. He quickly held up the jetpack in his arms. "Ah, anyway. I got yer jetpack right here and Tai here said he wanted to discuss something with you, Mand'alor. Just pretend I'm not here while you two talk and I'll get this fitted to yer armour. 'Scuse me, miss." Akiza moved out of his way so that Taggart could get to Xerxes' back.

Xerxes turned, focusing his attention on the Jedi, "Right, what's up, Tai?"

"First of all, I'd like to congratulate you on becoming the new Mand'alor, Xerxes. Your father would be proud very of you." Xerxes smiled, hoping that his father truly would be. "Secondly, my apologies for what happened with the Sith and your brother. It is something I should have seen coming and could have possibly prevented."

Xerxes' tone became more serious at the mention of the Sith, "Do you think they may have manipulated the situation or me for that matter?"

"It is possible," Tai folded his arms in thought. "Darth Verror seemed a little too pleased with himself when you banished Galbon. However, that doesn't truly prove anything one way or another. For now, what's done is done and worrying about it will solve nothing."

But Xerxes did worry about, "Do you think I did the right thing, Tai?"

"Hmm. That is a difficult question to answer, one to which I'm not sure I can answer. I do feel that it was the best decision that you could have made given the circumstances."

Taggart's voice came from behind Xerxes as Tai finished his thought, "What's right an what's wrong depends on a lotta things. Like who's askin, who's being asked, if you mean morally right or more like the correct decision. Sometimes there is no clear answer."

Tai nodded in agreement. "Very true. It may be that this is a learning opportunity for Galbon and that he will become the stronger for it, but we shall have to wait and see. Now then, onto the main reason for why I am here." The Kel Dor Jedi clasped his hands behind his back while looking Xerxes in the eye. "I'll get right to the point. Xerxes, in the short time I have known you and taught you what little I could about the Force, I have felt that there is a bond that has developed between us in the Force. Not much unlike the bond you and Miss Gev here share."

Xerxes looked at Akiza and realized that he could indeed feel a Force bond between them. Focusing through the Force, Xerxes felt for the bond between him and Tai and found that it was similar, as Tai had said. "Yes, I'd have to agree."

"I had hoped so," Tai said in relief. "It is for that reason, that Force bond, that I've come to ask you to accompany me to Tython to become my apprentice and learn the ways of the Force."

Now that, Xerxes had not been expecting. Xerxes' expression stayed neutral as he blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Ow!" Taggart seemed to have been distracted from his work for some reason and hurt himself by not paying attention. "Piece of _osik_ **5**!"

"You want to train me as your apprentice? Why?"

Tai shrugged his shoulders, "I've already told you why. Because our Force bond is similar to the kinds of Force bonds that form between a master and apprentice. Because I feel that it is the right decision." Tai folded his arms and smiled, "Also, if I'm honest, I rather like the idea of training the first Mandalorian Jedi ever."

Taggart reappeared from behind Xerxes with what appeared to be a small blood blister forming on his thumb. "Alright, got the blasted thing on fer ya. Mand'alor." Putting his tools on the nearby workbench, Taggart grabbed some first aid and added his opinion. "Mandalorian Jedi, huh? Now that's somethin ya don't hear every day. Would they even allow for a 'warmongering' race like us to be trained as Jedi?"

Tai Zhan sighed, "To be honest, I'm not sure. There are several among the Jedi Order who have no love for the Mandalorians, but I know a few who would not be opposed to the idea. As it stands, I haven't exactly told the Jedi Council about any of this yet. I think for now I'll leave out the part about asking you to be my apprentice until you've made a decision."

"You mean you don't need an answer from me right now?"

"Xerxes," Tai began, "You have just become the ruler of an entire planet, lost your brother, discovered you are Force-sensitive and possibly found a prospective spouse all in a matter of a day. Not even an entire day." Xerxes' face turned red again at the mention of Akiza. "I would not expect anyone to suddenly jump at that kind of offer after that kind of day. Also, I would hope that it is not a decision you would ever take lightly. I will be around the Mandalore sector for about a standard month, visiting friends and old charges. You should use that time to attend to your duties as Mand'alor and think about my offer. I'd encourage you to meditate on it." Tai made his way towards the door. "If you have any questions for me in the meantime, feel free to call me via holo and ask. K'oyaci, vod." He then made his way out of the building.

Taggart, Xerxes, and Akiza all stared at the door Tai had left through. No one was quite sure what to make of his words. Taggart was the first to break the silence, "Well, that's certainly an intriguing idea at least. What do you think, Mand'alor?"

Xerxes didn't know what to think. It was just another one of many things he needed to sort through that had suddenly piled up on him. Somehow the galaxy had dumped all its possibilities on him all at once. Like a child being presented with several sweets and being told he could only choose one, Xerxes was at a loss for what to do with his life. He felt Akiza's hand slip into his and give him a firm squeeze, letting him know that she would be there for him. Xerxes smiled at her and gave the old ironworker his answer, "I don't know, Taggart. It's a lot to take in all at once."

"Fair enough. I suppose then you'll be taking his offer into consideration then?"

"Something tells me I should. But for now, Mand'alor needs to get to know his planet and his new helmet needs to be calibrated."

Taggart instantly lit up with delight at the mention of armor, "Right, yer helmet. Got it right here." He picked up a helmet from the fabricator that he used to paint armor and held it up for Xerxes to see. Xerxes took it and observed the helmet. It was a standard design, painted with Xerxes' deep forest green and the t-shaped visor was painted gold. A gold triangle made its way from the top of the T to the top of the dome in a point. Xerxes held his helmet in his hands admiring the old man's work and then slipped it on over his head.

"Alright, Taggart hook me up," Xerxes ordered from inside his dark helmet.

"Just one sec. Come on baby, work fer daddy."

The next instant the helmet's HUD sprang to life, temporarily blinding Xerxes and giving him a full visual of the workshop before him. Taggart stepped into his view. "Okay, Mand'alore, it should be hooking up to all of yer armaments and tools in just a bit. There'll be a list of things that you can access through a blink-and-select function inside the helmet for quick access. You'll need to get used to the full 360-degree view option before using it in a fight or anything. Don't want you hurtin' yourself or gettin' sick. Now then, let's do a systems check. Let me know if anythin's missing."

A list of all Xerxes' tools and armor functions appeared on the HUD. Flamethrower, check. Grappling hook and tethers, check. Jetpack and rockets, check. Really the only thing that wouldn't need to be hooked up would be the hidden blades in his gauntlets that he got to keep from the competition. As Xerxes continued scrolling through his armor's features he noticed Akiza walk into his field of view behind Taggart. She began blushing as she smiled bashfully at Xerxes and waved. Although no one could see it, Xerxes had the biggest grin on his face as he realized how lucky he was.

"No, Taggart. Looks like everything is in its proper place."

1 Brothers in arms.

2 Children of Mand'alor

3 Hang in there or come back safely. Lit. Stay alive.

4 Taggart has an Australian accent, for those who wish to know.

5 Dung, sometimes used more vulgarly.


	11. Ch9 To be or not to be

**The Trials of Mand'alor**

 **Chapter 9**

 **To Be Or Not To Be**

Over the following month, Xerxes did everything he could to keep himself busy and his mind occupied so that he wouldn't have time to think about his brother. The duties that came with being Mand'alor had not been as taxing as he had first thought they'd be. At first, he'd go visit the Clan Leaders and see how the clans were fairing only to find that for the most part they were taking care of themselves and only needed minimal guidance. As L'gann had advised him, Mand'alor's job is to make sensible suggestions. After hearing that, Xerxes quickly realized that Mandalorians weren't the sort of people who needed to be told what made sense. They'd govern themselves like they always had. His input was only ever needed when it came to things like who to trade with, what resources did they need, expanding land and territory. Some of the Clan Leaders had been hoping, like Galbon had been, to expand the Mandalore Sector and take over neighboring systems. Of course, a crusade was the furthest thing from Xerxes' mind and he didn't feel that expanding the sector was a priority. While those particular leaders didn't agree with Xerxes' ideals, they nonetheless followed his word as if it were law.

After that Xerxes would spend most of his time visiting Taggart at Mandal Motors. Xerxes found that he enjoyed spending time there where he could work with his hands to solve mechanical problems. Upgrading his Swoop Bike and coming up with designs for new ships and war machines was easily at the top of the list when it came to Taggart's wild ideas. If Xerxes hadn't become Mand'alor, he felt that he would have liked to have apprenticed under Taggart. Not as an iron-smith, but as an inventor. The two would often bounce ideas off of each other to find solutions and sometimes found answers in the strangest places. Xerxes secretly hoped to get a chance to one-day ride one of the massive basilisk war-droids that Taggart had in his workshops.

When Xerxes found himself with nothing to do after all that, he would find a quiet place in the woods nearby Mand'alor's Mansion and meditate on the Force as Tai had taught him. Each time it became easier to do and easier to understand what the Force was and how it connected all living things. Xerxes found that if he focused hard enough, that he could feel Tai's presence in the Force even though he was far away. The other person he found it incredibly easy to find in the Force was Akiza. Tai had spoken with Xerxes over holo and conveyed to the young man his suspicions that Akiza was also Force-sensitive. But Xerxes wasn't certain of how to broach the subject with her or if he even should so, instead, Xerxes would try to do other things with the Force that he had heard of from other people's accounts of Jedi feats, but aside from pulling small objects to himself, heightening his senses and hiding in the Force like before, Xerxes wasn't able to learn anything beyond that, not without a proper teacher. He probably never would unless he took Tai up on his offer to be his apprentice. The Sith certainly wouldn't teach him and frankly, Xerxes didn't want them to. He'd sooner see them all wiped away from existence after what they'd done to take away the people in his life. First his father, now his brother. Using the Force often followed this circle of thought to his brother whom he was trying not to think about in the first place. When it reached this point, Xerxes would give up and go inside to bed.

The first couple of nights at Mand'alor's Mansion had made Xerxes painfully aware of just how alone he felt and how much he wanted his family back. The weight of that pain made it difficult to sleep, at times it felt almost unbearable. Not wanting to continue living in that manner, Xerxes decided to ask Akiza to move into Mand'alor's Mansion with him. Having had a chance to express their feelings to each other after their kiss in the workshop, Akiza had been surprised he hadn't asked sooner. Since they were both considered adults, such an arrangement wasn't uncommon and Akiza was more than happy to join him. Her presence in his new home had been a welcome change and it filled a void in his life. Not the void left by his father or Galbon, but a void Xerxes hadn't even realized was there. Xerxes still wasn't quite sure what that void was. It wasn't as if anything they did together was any different from before he became Mand'alor, they still practiced fighting techniques, went on hunts and spent time talking about all the things they did before. She even cooked for him just like she used to for the Fett brothers. He and Galbon had never been that good at it and they had no one else who could cook for them. But now it felt different. More like being a couple as opposed to just friends? Or because now they lived together? Or perhaps it was the growing Force bond Xerxes could feel between them?

Whatever the reason, Xerxes didn't mind. Being able to have such an intimate relationship with Akiza had been something that Xerxes had wanted for a long time. And now that he finally had it, he was afraid to lose it. The Jedi taught against attachments, especially the romantic kind, and if Xerxes were to join the Jedi then he would have to give that up. Losing the only other person left in his life was something he hated the idea of. But every time he focused on the Force, Xerxes felt that it was telling him to go in the direction of the Jedi Order. None of it made sense and he felt frustrated. After meditating that particular, day Xerxes decided he would go to the Oyu'baat Cantina and visit his friends. He could use a mug of sweet _net'ra_ _gal_ ** _1_** to soothe his nerves. Xerxes rode his Swoop Bike down to the Cantina. Upon entering, Xerxes felt the familiar rush of being carefree and the scent of spirits in the air. All the patrons greeted him in Mando'a whether he knew them or not. Xerxes had gotten used to wearing his armor whenever he went out and everyone had gotten used to it as well, like the helmet could have been his actual face. In short, his armor had become the image of the new Mand'alor, and it was an image that the Mandalorians readily showed the galaxy.

Tonight, Xerxes had come with the intent to unwind by spending time with his friends; Vlad, L'gann and the younger boys of the clan, Mark and Donnie, and drink as much net'ra gal as he could handle. Xerxes had just started on his second drink when he heard Vlad mention something about Galbon.

"Hold on." Xerxes interrupted Vlad by placing a hand on his shoulder. "What about Galbon? Is he alright? Did something happen to him?"

Vlad brushed Xerxes' hand off his shoulder, "No, he's fine. Nothing to worry about. I talked with him earlier today."

"You talked with him earlier today? What do you mean? I haven't heard from him since he left for Dromund Kaas."

Vlad appeared slightly taken aback by this. "Oh. Well, he calls us occasionally and lets us know how he is and what he's up to at the Sith Academy. Right, guys?"

Mark and Donnie nodded and agreed enthusiastically, bringing up all the things Galbon was learning from the Sith. They had always looked up to Galbon like an older sibling, so it was no surprise that Galbon would want to keep in contact with them. That didn't bother Xerxes, but…

"He calls you guys, but not me." Xerxes' gaze was unfocused as he looked down at his net'ra gal while speaking. Did Galbon hate him that much? That he'd rather talk to anyone except Xerxes? "Xerxes, look." Vlad began. "I'm sure he's not…"

Xerxes quickly grabbed his helmet and rammed it on to his head. One thing he'd learned about the helmet was that no one could see or hear what you were really feeling inside when you wore it. A mask to become unfeeling and hide in plain sight. "I think I'm gonna head home," Xerxes said. "Call it a night." Xerxes did his best to make sure his voice didn't betray the frustration he now felt bubbling up inside him. He left the building before anyone could object or say anything otherwise.

It was a quiet, moonless night as Xerxes walked briskly over to his Swoop Bike. He placed the palms of his hands on the side panels of the bike and leaned against it, trying to contain all of the pent-up frustration, doubt, and self-pity that he had been holding in since he became Mand'alor. But after hearing that Galbon had been purposefully ignoring him, all of that pressure had become too much. Xerxes threw his arms up into the air, screaming in primal rage. Without even thinking, Xerxes unsheathed his hidden blades and began stabbing at the nearest thing he could find. With each thrust, the emotional dam cracked, burst, and completely fell apart. It needed to get out. He wanted it out. He had to get it all out. He didn't care if whatever he was taking his frustration out on got destroyed, he had to get it out. He kept stabbing and screaming and stabbing until at long last he couldn't stab anymore. Xerxes quietly fell to his knees, exhausted, allowing the tears to stream down his face. He'd have to clean the inside of his helmet later, but at that moment it didn't matter. Nothing about his life made sense anymore and he felt like an absolute failure. As a Force user, as Mand'alor, and as a brother.

"You know, you're going to have to pay for that." Xerxes looked up and noticed that L'gann had been observing him while leaning against one of the nearby buildings with his hands in his pockets.

"Huh?"

"That bag of feed you just stabbed the ever-loving-hell out of. The owner is not gonna be happy about that. Or his Roba's for that matter."

Xerxes looked down at his would-be victim and saw that he had indeed destroyed a bag of animal feed in his rage. "Yeah, well," Xerxes cleared his throat, "He, ahem, he had it coming."

"Uh huh." L'gann walked up to Xerxes and eyed him for an uncomfortably long time. "I'm not gonna pretend to understand what you're going through or to ask if you want to talk about it, but there is something I want to show you. Something I should've shown you a while ago. Follow me."

…

Xerxes ended up following L'gann back to Mand'alor's Mansion. Akiza would more than likely be preparing meals for the next day at this hour. The pattern of their daily life together had become so routine that Xerxes could practically predict it. He rather enjoyed it. It felt like the only thing he could rely on to stay the same anymore. Xerxes opened the front doors and escorted L'gann inside. "Akiza!" he called out. "I'm home and your father is here with me."

Akiza's head poked around the doorframe of the kitchen, her smile appeared as she caught sight of her father. Xerxes noticed the flour covered apron she wore as she rushed to her father and embraced him. She must have been baking some sort of pies or bread. L'gann sighed as he held his daughter, "There's my baby girl. It hasn't been the same at home without you."

"And I'm sure you're doing just fine without me." Akiza smiled as she pulled back and placed her hands on her hips. "But what are you doing here so early? I'd have thought you two would still be out at the Oyu'baat at this time of night."

L'gann put his hands in his pockets, "We were, but from what I've been able to gather, Galbon has been keeping in contact with everyone except for Xerxes. On purpose. So, you can imagine how that made him feel and how he reacted."

Akiza turned to Xerxes in concern and cupped her hands around his face. "Oh, _cyar'ika_ ** _2_** , I'm so sorry." Xerxes took his left hand and held her hand against his face. He stroked her soft skin with his thumb as he attempted to reassure her.

"It's alright, love. I think I'll be okay."

"Right!" L'gann called out as he clapped his hands together. "This isn't why I brought you here. I've brought you here because it's time you saw your father's grave."

…

The small tomb that L'gann had brought them to was directly underneath the armory through a secret passage. The space within was no more than fifteen feet in diameter and in the center was the grave of Mand'alor the Father, Abram Merrel. At the head of the grave was a small stone pillar with a silver and red helmet resting on top of it. The helmet had belonged to Abram. Xerxes supposed that L'gann and Tai had set it up in this manner as a way to honor their friend. Most Mandalorians didn't get a personally marked grave and very few of the Mand'alors did. Almost always, the dead were remembered by the family wearing a piece of their armor. The dead returned to dust and the armor didn't go to waste. Xerxes, L'gann, and Akiza all stood in reverent silence while observing the grave. Xerxes began wondering why they were there when L'gann walked up to the helmet and started speaking to it.

"Sorry it's been so long since my last visit, Abram. Been busy keeping things together while you're gone." There was an old Mandalorian saying that the dead were never really gone, just marching far away. For L'gann to be addressing his deceased friend in such a manner was completely normal. L'gann continued, "We did as you asked and held the Mand'alor competition just like you wanted. And you'll be happy to know that it was Xerxes who came out on top. He's been doing a good job so far, but he seems to be struggling with what it truly means to be Mand'alor." L'gann turned and faced Xerxes as he continued talking. "And I think it's time we taught him exactly what that means. Xerxes, do you remember why Abram's title was Mand'alor the Father?"

Xerxes automatically answered with what had always been the reason why, "Because of all of the children he adopted."

"Nope. That's not it." Xerxes brow furrowed in confusion. "How about this one then? What does the word Mando'ade translate into?"

"It means children of Mand'alor."

"Right. You see, Abram decided to take that meaning literally. In his eyes all Mandalorians were his children. Meaning he needed to care for them all like they were his children. Provide for them. Protect them. He had chosen the title of Mand'alor the Father long before he gained his reputation for adopting children. Because that's what being Mand'alor meant to him and what it has come to mean again. So, with that in mind, what does being Mand'alor mean to you, Xerxes?"

Xerxes looked down at his hands and pondered L'gann's question. He thought about the subtle meanings and interpretations of the words Mand'alor and Mando'ade. He considered what it was he was capable of and what was expected of him and the choices that had been laid before him. "It means", Xerxes began, "that I need to be able to provide things for my people that they aren't capable of getting themselves. That I need to teach them how to be stronger and show them who they can trust and rely on."

L'gann nodded his head in approval. "And what about the Sith?" he asked Xerxes. "They've taken away the option to be potential allies. So, that makes them…?"

A sense of dread crawled up the back of Xerxes neck. Xerxes answered, "A potential threat." He allowed the words to hang in the air before continuing. "It means one day they'll be back for what they couldn't get from us the first time. Sacrificing Galbon merely staved off their eventual attack and we'll need to be ready for them."

"And do you think, Xerxes, that we're capable of stopping them as we are? As you are now, do you think you'll be able to hold off even one Sith Lord?"

Clarity and realization erupted in Xerxes mind, flooding him with a sense of purpose. "No." Xerxes declared. "And we never will be. I never will be." Xerxes clenched his fists in determination. "Unless I train as Tai Zhan's apprentice with the Jedi."

Xerxes looked up into the face of L'gann. Every fiber of Xerxes' being and even the Force were telling him that this choice was the correct path. The only path. L'gann placed a hand on Xerxes' shoulder and met his gaze with equal determination. "Then I guess you know what you need to do next. Right, Mand'alore?"

"Yes."

"What should I tell the clan leaders?"

"Exactly what we discussed. That I'm going to train with the Jedi in order to be the best Mand'alor I can be."

L'gann smiled, withdrew his hand and began leaving the chamber. "Alright. I'll gather the clan leaders in the morning and tell them. Guess that means I'm the go-to-guy again. *Sigh* I hadn't thought of that."

Xerxes and Akiza were left alone in the chamber with Abram's grave. Xerxes could feel Akiza's emotions churning through the Force. She wasn't happy, she wasn't angry, but she wasn't sure how to feel. Xerxes decided to let her say something first rather than try to tell her how she should feel. He knew there was a possibility he would lose her with this decision, but…

"Xerxes?" she finally spoke. "Are you sure about this?"

Xerxes looked at his fist and then into his lover's amber eyes. "Yes." He simply stated. "I don't like the idea of maybe losing you or being away from home, but it feels right. If I stay here, I won't become strong enough to fight off an army of Sith in time and everything I'll have done as Mand'laor with have been for nothing." Xerxes drew a steadying breath, and let it back out. "I have to do this. For all of us."

Akiza smiled sadly. "You know it's hard to say no to you when you get that look in your eye?" She cupped her hands around his face and held his gaze on her. "It's one of the reasons I fell for you." She pulled his forehead to rest on hers. "I suppose this means you'll be gone for a long time?" Xerxes could hear the sadness in her voice even though she was trying not to let it show.

"Maybe." Xerxes replied. "For all we know the Jedi won't accept me for training anyway and that'll be that."

"I doubt it. They'd be fools not to."

"You're probably right. In any case, I won't be leaving right away… so, we have some time to, um, you know…" a small blush began to cover Xerxes' face as he tried to allude his meaning to Akiza. Her eyes took on a mischievous glint.

She giggled. "Shall I prepare your chambers then, Mand'alor?"

Xerxes suddenly felt both excited and nervous at the predator that he had unwittingly unleashed standing before him. "Ha ha. Yeah, you do that. I just, um." Xerxes ran a hand through his hair. "Ahem, I need to make a call really quick first. So, I'll be up in a minute."

Akiza ran her index finger down his lower lip. "Don't keep me waiting too long." She then sauntered away up the stairs, her hips swaying suggestively before him. Xerxes lightly bit his knuckle in anticipation following her movements with his eyes until she was out of sight.

Xerxes sighed. "Man, I must be really stupid to be doing this." He pulled his holo-communicator off his belt, punched in the contact information and waited until the holographic form of Jedi Master Tai Zhan appeared in his hands.

"Xerxes!" the Jedi answered. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

 _Right_ , Xerxes thought. _Here goes._ "So, that position for apprentice you brought up last time. Is that spot still available?"

1 Black ale- sweet, almost spicy black beer

2 Darling, sweetheart


End file.
